Possible damp next to a window

[Thacky]

Hey all!

I've recently bought a maisonette and have noticed this discoloration adjacent to one of my windows. It's been getting worse recently in that more coloured spots are appearing. The spots feel damp to the touch (colder than non-coloured areas).

I'm worried it's damaging the structure and should get a specialist in ASAP, but have also heard these damp specialists milk you for your money 😖

Hoping for some advice of any next steps and is much appreciated!

What’s the brickwork like outside? Maybe it needs repointing? That was the cause of our damp issue. It seems to be focused on that one side so it could even be that the window frame needs resealing. I’d get someone up a ladder outside to have a look before calling in a damp specialist, we had a brickie doing some work for us who indicated we needed some pointing doing in certain areas so either a brickie, a pointing specialist or even a good, knowledgeable, handyman could have a look first.

@VeryLittleBrain The rendering outside the area around the window seems fine, no cracks or the like. While I had my head out the window, I did notice some suspicious looking work on the frame of the window (bottom of the attached photo). This makes me think that the previous owners knew of a window leak problem and tried to haphazardly seal it.

Any advice on how to find someone knowledgeable enough to have a look?