Estate Agency events, Judges Report

The 2009 Judges’ Report IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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Contents

Messages

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Estate Agency of the Year 2009

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Best Small Agency

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Best Medium Agency

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Best Large Agency

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Best Lettings

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Best Customer Service

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Best Franchise

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Best Financial Services

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Best Marketing

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Best Overseas

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Best Innovation

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Best New Homes

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Best Technology & Web

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Best Training & Development

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Best Prestige Property

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EAE Award for Outstanding Contribution

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Thank you to the Judges

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A message from the organisers Where do I begin? What a truly unprecedented response we’ve had from you all this year. Since starting the awards seven years ago, I am always thrilled by the support of agents nationwide but must confess to being overawed that the Estate Agency of the Year Awards 2009 in association with The Sunday Times has not only had the highest entry levels ever but the event itself completely sold out in record time.

I would like to personally thank you all so much for your support – it is tremendous to see the great work you’re doing and how many of you want to shout it from the rooftops. This year’s entries showed innovative and inspiring businesses with dedicated and motivated teams offering high quality service.

I started the awards in 2003 to celebrate and endorse best practice and high standards in our industry and I never fail to be inspired by the work and dedication of agents across the UK. No-one can argue with the fact that the trading conditions of the past 18 months have been the worst for nearly 20 years and last year we weren’t even sure of the appropriateness of running our event at all given the dire situation many of you found yourselves in.

Peter Knight Chairman, Estate Agency Events

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations to you all for not only keeping your doors open (testimony to your strong businesses and sheer hard work) but also for the fact that you’re all demonstrating high levels of success and growth.

It’s not only agents who have experienced difficulties so my sincere thanks must go to our sponsors and supporters - their backing is hugely appreciated. We simply could not run the event without them and their help in promoting the event has been invaluable.

As always, we are indebted to Christopher Hamer, the Property Ombudsman who has once again taken on the role of Chairman of Judges. Thanks too for the continuing support of the National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Lettings Agents, especially Peter Bolton King in his role as Arbiter of the judging process. Every year we strive to ensure our judging process is second to none and we simply could not do it without the support of Christopher, as well as Peter and the rest of the judges, who give their time to ensure the process is as fair and comprehensive as possible.

Finally I would like to thank the Estate Agency Events team, especially Events Director Sophie Williams, and Danielle Woods who has ably assisted her. The event itself is the culmination of many months of hard work and they both take on several different roles to bring you an exciting and motivating event.

I’d like to finish by repeating my congratulations to you all and raising a toast to continued success for 2010.

A message from the Chairman of the Judges As Chairman of the panel of judges I have to ensure that the judging process is approached consistently and fairly, that every entrant has had an equal opportunity to present their case either through the written submission or in the subsequent telephone interviews.

Another very important duty is for me to determine whether there are any actual or potential conflicts of interest through any panel member having an actual or potential involvement with any of the entrants. This year several judges openly declared that they did or might have a business interest with particular firms and it is therefore important that I assure all entrants that in such a case, the individual judge had no input to the decision on the awards for the category or categories in which the conflict of interest was relevant.

Christopher J Hamer The Property Ombudsman

Decisions on the award winners and shortlistings are made collectively by the panel. As with previous years this involved some fairly robust discussions and real testing of the individual category judge’s recommendations. The standard of entries was again, in the panel’s opinion, very high and it was not always an easy decision to place one firm ahead of another but the underlying approach to the judges decision-making was to identify and reward those firms which had clearly progressed their business during the last year of particularly difficult market conditions.

All the judges gave a significant amount of their own time in considering the entries and collating the information provided for presentation to the panel. I thank them for their commitment and for some very interesting discussions.

The list of judges is shown elsewhere in this report.

Christopher J Hamer The Property Ombudsman

Sponsored by

The award for Estate Agency of the Year 2009

OVERALL WINNER

Gibbs Gillespie Since opening Gibbs Gillespie as the first estate agents in Ruislip nearly 20 years ago, Paul Gillespie and James Gibbs have built their company up into an innovative and inspiring business with 23 branches across North London and Middlesex.

Always aspiring to be the best in their area, they constantly strive to improve on their entire service offering from internal systems and processes to brand awareness and customer service levels.

Despite the difficulties of the last 12 months, Gibbs Gillespie has succeeded in keeping all their branches open and has continued to profit from the introduction of new services including conveyancing which has had a fantastic uptake with their clients.

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Motivated by directors who admit to still being excited by the industry and their business, staff retention is second to none and all branch managers, the majority of whom have been with the company for over 10 years, have worked their way up from junior roles. This ensures that their knowledge of their areas, the business and their teams is truly comprehensive, all of which only serve to improve the customer experience.

There is a real sense of teamwork and with a top notch training system in place for all staff from branch managers and directors to junior negotiators and receptionists, the teams at Gibbs Gillespie are kept motivated, enthused and up to date with industry developments. With an annual training conference for the whole company every January to kick start each new year, there are also weekly meetings where staff can raise any issues they might have and resolve them as well as one to ones for team members throughout the year with industry trainers.

The directors encourage internal competition amongst the teams and have introduced a presentation award whereby they look at the property particulars in each branch and online on a monthly basis awarding the winning branch a night out. This has been proven to inspire their teams to make sure the presentation of the properties is clear, concise and easily navigated across their entire stock Their marketing material shows how passionate they are about their brand and they aspire to “be first” in any new innovation or collateral they produce. “Upper Class” is their property and lifestyle magazine, first launched in 2007 and published twice a year. Designed to showcase selected properties on their books, “Upper Class” also features lifestyle articles from property journalists and is distributed via several mediums to ensure it reaches as wide as audience as possible.

Their strapline is, “An Exceptional Moving Experience” and everything that Gibbs Gillespie do throughout every aspect of their business is with the sole aim of making this the true experience for every single customer they see. An all-round impressive business – Gibbs Gillespie is well run, built on a solid foundation and seeks to innovate at every level. Inspiring.

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Globrix is the United Kingdom’s largest search engine for property to buy and to rent. We offer property professionals a free-to-list service and are the only property website that sends high quality traffic straight to your website.

Britain’s biggest property search engine.

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The award for Best UK Small Agency

UK SMALL AGENCY G OL D

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UK SMALL AGENCY SILV ER

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UK SMALL AGENCY B RON ZE

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Ashington Page Throughout the property recession Ashington Page has continued to invest, innovate, and improve its customer facing activities resulting in increased profit. Gareth Ashington prides himself on their customer feedback – they receive 100% genuine satisfaction from both vendors and purchasers and his company’s ability to survive and thrive in the face of strong competition from both nationals and strong independents is impressive. Staff retention is paramount – they’ve had the same team for nearly 5 years and is reflected in a continued “passion” from all to continue to strive to do better, whether through the production of a completely new web site, impressive marketing material, or just exemplary service levels. An outstanding and dynamic agency which is proving unbeatable.

The Property People Not content with being historical serial winners both nationally and regionally, this agency from Wales has categorically refused to slow its continued pursuit of excellence. The directors are particularly proud of their diversification into different areas to ensure the survival and growth of their business and their success with this is clearly demonstrated by its newly formed and highly profitable Auction department. Technical innovation too is at the forefront for this high achieving team, and is not only reflected through the service levels but also through the high staff retention, focus on quality and a consistently reviewed business plan that with its inherent flexibility allows the company to profit and grow. The Property People is simply a top notch agency.

Karl Tatler Estate Agents There is a huge energy and “buzz” about this company not just from the man himself, Karl Tatler but from all concerned. Previous award winners, Karl Tatler Estate Agents have demonstrated a consistent commitment to service and innovation and contrary to market conditions, the past months have seen this company grow and profit with the team refusing to rest on their laurels. It is apparent that the entire company have the united aim of continuous improvement and the extraordinarily high service levels have allowed margins to be significantly improved without resorting to wholesale damaging cost base reductions. Office refurbishments and the highest standards in terms of marketing and promotion are reflected in a high market share and well deserved success.

Shortlisted: Wilkinson Grant & Co.

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Regional winners Best Small Agency

South East

London

Gold – Ashington Page

Ellis & Co, Golders Green

Owner Gareth Ashington has worked in estate agency for 28 years and both he and his team are extremely vocal about their ongoing passion for the industry. Early cost cutting resulted in a profitable agency who has come through the recession without needing an overdraft or loan, who made no redundancies and retain a healthy bank balance. 100% of client feedback is positive and they enjoy a high level of recommendations. A strong believer in his team, Gareth has invested heavily in private training for the staff and the value is reflected in the quality of their actions. Having achieved a silver award in this category last year, the team has actively endeavoured to improve this year – the gold award is theirs.

Keen and passionate, James Ryan and his team are a force to be reckoned with. Marrying meticulous systems and processes with a personal touch and the ability for staff to use their own initiative has resulted in excellent customer feedback and extraordinary referral levels. The team work hard but are well rewarded with long breaks at Christmas, their birthdays off and generous annual leave allowance. Customer service is impeccable with the belief that by providing a top notch service to their clients this can only result in better and more profitable business. They have maintained their profile through the downturn and reduced advertising spend has been countered by greater involvement in the community through school and charity sponsorship and contribution. Fantastic.

Silver – Scott Fraser Established in 1979, Scott Fraser has not rested on its laurels and continues to seek new and innovative ways to improve their offering. Operating in a niche market, the team drew on their experience in the previous recession to continue to grow during the tough times. Boasting a high valuation to instruction ratio, much of their business is personal recommendation. Offering a number of services to clients they are also select in the properties they take on, an approach which results in quick sales and a personal service. Outstanding.

Shortlisted: Lynch & Co.

South West Gold – Wilkinson Grant & Co Continuing to succeed following their gold award last year, Wilkinson Grant remain an impressive business. Growing from a suburban to city centre agency, their reputation is excellent and they were the first to sell properties over £5m in their area. Staff training is based around personal qualities to enable each team member to work to their strengths. Fully compliant, the MD’s name and number is made available to all clients and their in-house handbook is given to all the team to emphasise standards, procedures and protocols. Strong involvement in local causes has raised their profile and reputation. Wilkinson Grant has improved on their already extremely high standards to retain the gold award.

Silver – Thompson Estates In a very short time, this Jersey based agency has achieved fantastic business growth through expert knowledge of the island, innovative marketing and state of the art office facilities.

They have managed to increase their market share from their closest competitor, a long established agent, and a hot desking arrangement enables the most motivated negotiators to be in the front line. Closely involved in local causes and initiatives, Thompson Estates are an agency to watch.

Shortlisted: Maitlands Estate Agents

Midlands Gold – Newman Estate Agents Newmans is a business to aspire to. Regular entrants to the awards they never fail to impress the judges with their ongoing commitment to raising the bar for estate agency. The professionalism, attention to detail and enthusiasm of the entire team is palpable and they are the most well-respected agent in their region. Staff turnover is low, due to excellent training, rewards and a culture of full involvement for the team who are viewed as their chief business asset. Offering a wide number of services with expert advice for customers they continue to up their game every year never failing to impress with their service levels, customer feedback, business investment and innovative ideas. With three offices, Newmans is more than a match for the big boys.

Silver – Campbells A one office branch, Campbells is a truly exceptional agency. Ably led by director Paul Campbell, he set the business up during the last recession and has expanded into property coaching and writing – his book on selling your property is available on Amazon and given to every client upon instruction. Team communication is second to none with daily meetings and a dedication to continued professional development, including active demonstration of the procedures manual for new staff. The entire team has invested their money in the company so their commitment to taking care of their clients is personal. Not only devoted to providing an excellent personal service but also improving the standards of the industry as a whole and public perception, Campbells is impressive and inspiring.

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Northern

Wales

Gold – Karl Tatler Estate Agents

Gold – The Property People

Continually successful, Karl Tatler Estate Agents impress the judging panel every year with their commitment, attention to detail and innovative thinking. Definitely a shining example of leading from the top, Karl’s enthusiasm is backed up by superior understanding of the industry and this is filtered down through his equally impressive team. His success in chain building is impressive particularly within his own client base and investment in high bright window screens means 100% of properties are displayed with the screens completely visible even in direct sunlight. Internet spend has increased four-fold, including listing 100% of properties as premium displays on rightmove; hits, click through rates and enquiries have all increased accordingly. Direct involvement with local primary schools has prompted links with secondary schools in the area through hands-on assistance and donations. Yet again Karl Tatler Estate Agents prove their excellence and take the gold.

The Property People understand their market and invest in their advertising accordingly. With 55 years combined experience, the directors are growing the business and they are highly successful.

Their submission only served to emphasise their attention to detail and the material they produce is high quality, informative and well presented. Expanding into commercial sales and auctions, The Property People are the now the number one auction house in North Wales and a leading commercial estate agent. For a small agency their diversity is impressive – they also boast divisions for new homes, mortgages and professional services. Staff development is individual but linked into company goals enabling the entire team to feel involved in the direction of the business. Inspiring.

Silver – Thomas & Rose Silver – Grisdales Shortlisted last year, the team at Grisdales has made a concerted effort to improve already high standards to take the silver. Already recognised as an outstanding local business, they have expanded and improved their profile whilst direct competitors were closing.

Their overriding belief is that the entire team must strive to exceed customers’ expectations and they work hard to remain ahead of the competition. Offering a comprehensive level of services, their vision for 2010 is about continued investment and continuing momentum through the improved market. An innovative agency they introduced “First View”, select viewing opportunities for new homes on their books and “Option 1, 2, 3” which offers vendors tailor made solutions for moving without selling. Impressive.

Shortlisted: Dandara, Northumbria and Cumbria Estates

Scotland Gold – Maloco An impressive one office company based in Dumfermline, Maloco strive to offer a one stop shop to their clients for all their moving needs and they achieve this with in-house solicitors and paralegals as well as expert negotiators. Despite sales volumes and transactions falling, Maloco has increased their market share and are the number one ranked firm for sales in their region even when taking into account national and non-solicitor based agencies. There is a strong culture of rewarding the team and they have invested in regular training and best practice meetings. The entire team was involved in submitting their entry for this category and the pride they all feel about their business is apparent.

In a difficult year, Thomas & Rose has taken the time to completely reinvent their business model choosing to target and build relationships with investors and through large scale corporate deals.

This approach has not only grown their market share and local presence but has allowed them to reinvest the profits to improve services for residential sales and also launch a successful lettings division. A one office branch, they achieved over 90 sales in October.

All clients have the contact details for the MD and the entire team is available outside of office hours for urgent queries. Their branding, website and marketing collateral is eye catching and unique and is designed with value for the client in mind.

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The award for Best UK Medium Agency

UK MEDIUM AGENCY G OL D

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UK MEDIUM AGENCY SILV ER

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UK MEDIUM AGENCY B RON ZE

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Gibbs Gillespie New entrants this year, Gibbs Gillespie are well deserved winners of this award. Everything they undertake is considered in terms of how it will improve their company and how it will benefit the customer. With the team kept involved in the important decisions, there is a clear sense of the pride and mutual desire they have to work together to take the business from strength to strength. The directors admit to still feeling excited about the industry after 20 years and this is filtered down to the teams and is clearly demonstrated by the fantastic staff retention. Open 7 days a week including bank holidays, the focus is always on the customer needs and they work hard in the local community to raise their company profile and help local causes. An innovative and modern business, congratulations to Gibbs Gillespie for their well deserved success.

Greene & Co Greene & Co is an agency which projects a strong corporate identity coupled with a position of knowledge and authority of their local area meaning their customer loyalty is second to none.

Consistent award winners, their attention to detail where their clients are concerned is aspirational.

Team members adhere to the “12 Golden Rules” of service standards and are rewarded for unsolicited feedback with all vendors receiving a personal call following completion and move to their new property. They’ve opened new branches and continued to profit despite the trading conditions, due in no small part to the replacement of press advertising with a comprehensive community contact programme. Each branch is actively involved in raising money for charities from the MD down and members of the Greene & Co team are often found volunteering and fundraising at local events to help out and raise the company’s profile. Greene & Co is a shining example of the strength of a fantastic team working together.

Dacre, Son & Hartley Dacre, Son & Hartley is a long established family business based in Yorkshire. Managing to successfully marry the heritage of the company with innovative and up to date selling solutions, this business strives to constantly adapt to the modern market and clients’ needs. The directors are particularly proud of the relationship between their teams and the fact that they have managed to minimise staff losses throughout the downturn, due in no small part to their strong cross selling ethos. Identifying a need to diversify their offering away from solely selling properties, the early recognition of alternate income streams has stood them in good stead and ensured they’ve remained not only profitable but able to continue to invest in the company and the team. Dacre, Son & Hartley are a well deserved winner.

Shortlisted: Birmingham Property Group

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Regional winners Best Medium Agency

South East

Midlands

Gold – Gibbs Gillespie

Gold – Birmingham Property Group

Gibbs Gillespie’s excitement and motivation is still apparent after 20 years. Passionate about training and marketing they have fostered a strong internal competitive structure so all their team strive to be the best not only individually but for the company as well. Despite the down turn they’ve kept all offices open, retained all their staff and continued to be profitable. The team are involved in much of the decision making for the business and the transfer of great sales people to lettings has resulted in the expansion of this department.

A great all round agency doing the right stuff. Fantastic.

Making the difficult decisions early enabled Birmingham Property Group to increase their market share throughout the difficult market. Clearly valuing their team, there is a strong culture of motivation, training and involvement and their determination to build a solid foundation on which they can expand the business in the future is evident and in progress. Determined to continually improve their service, from the directors down, the entire team are involved with implementing ideas and innovations to improve their offering time and again.

Silver – Robinson-Jackson An old fashioned agency with up to the minute ideas, RobinsonJackson is an extremely impressive agency. Taking the view that there has never been a better time to buy, they have increased their advertising spend, their team bonuses and added new services all with the result that they’ve increased market share, selling over 25 houses per branch in only one month. They offer an impressive level of services and long opening hours 7 days a week. The directors are hands-on and their dedication and enthusiasm filters down to the team, winning them a well deserved silver.

Silver – Goodchilds

Shortlisted: Beresfords

Rather than cutting costs, the Goodchilds team took the decision to actively seek new business. Thorough training programmes educated the entire team about the economic problems with higher incentives and improved feedback introduced to really motivate everyone to get results. This approach worked as the staff followed their instincts to increase their fees, produce better quality work and used their initiative to support their clients. Involvement in their local community has also served to build team morale and build their brand and ethics among potential new clients.

London

Northern

Gold – Greene & Co

Gold – Dacre, Son & Hartley

Improving on already high standards from last year, Greene & Co go from strength to strength. An impressive focus on CSR and involvement in local causes has reaped reward in a higher profile and a reputation as a caring local business increasing profitability.

Exceedingly high staff retention shows an agency that really values its team and they in turn are hugely respected by their clients. Their easily navigated website looks fantastic and provides a number of services for clients. The fact that they opened new offices in the downturn which are already profitable is indicative of a great agency who know what they are doing. A gold award for a gold standard agency.

Dacre, Son & Hartley truly is an outstanding agency. The attention to detail, for both clients and staff, from the senior partner down was palpable. They refuse to compromise on their high client care standards and ensure their clients are kept fully informed about every aspect of their property sales including market conditions.

Working hours change regularly to suit the needs of the clients with a strong focus on cross selling services to improve the client experience and business profitability. A clear example of a business with clear guidelines and standards with nothing left to chance.

Silver – Northfields Northfields is an impressive London agency who reacted quickly and decisively to the downturn. They take the view that their team are the main company asset and invest in them accordingly. All staff undergo weekly training with external coaches and the performance of the company is shared with all the team enabling an awareness of the business position. Constantly embracing new technology and developing an already impressive lettings department Northfields is an outstanding agency which punches well above its weight.

Shortlisted: Felicity J Lord

Silver – Thornley Groves Everything about this business demonstrates dedication to providing the highest service possible with every client treated by the team as a personal challenge to be the best. Directors are fully involved in the daily workings of the business; their attitude and enthusiasm shines through their company like a beacon. They’ve worked hard to enhance their profile, extending their opening hours and services following direct customer feedback; an approach which has increased their profitability, enhanced their reputation and increased their market share. Inspiring effort.

Shortlisted: Ian Tonge Property Services

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The award for Best UK Large Agency

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UK LARGE AGENCY SILV ER

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UK LARGE AGENCY B RON ZE

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Your Move Your Move was one of the very first estate agencies to predict and prepare for the market downturn and subsequently were able to react very quickly to developments. An incredible focus on revenue led to the introduction of new services including call centres enabling customers to speak to someone at any hour plus converting every branch, investing in IT and training staff to handle lettings. A top level understanding of web and the implementation of a strategy to capture visitors on both portals and their own website enabled Your Move to deal with these leads effectively. Impressive in a company of Your Move’s size is their staff retention; over 50% of staff have been with them for over 5 years and they made few redundancies. This was an exceptional entry with Your Move standing out as a top agency.

Chancellors Chancellors are an impressive agency using their size and buying power to offer an extremely high level of services and service to their customer, but have managed to retain their local feel and position.

With equal expertise in both sales and lettings, they focused extremely hard on the very limited number of determined buyers during the recession and this enabled them to shift properties and increase their level of instruction via recommendations from satisfied customers. Their lettings department is especially impressive with specialist external lettings experts to support branches and both landlords and tenants show real loyalty to Chancellors. They utilise social networking sites to maximum effect with this strategy looked at long term rather than as a gimmick and they offer individual web campaigns to clients. Their continued success is well earned.

Connells Group Yet again, Connells Group has proven why they are an award winning agency. Building on the success and profit of the past they remain financially robust and implemented impressive strategies to diversify their revenue streams in the downturn. Throughout the difficult market, Connells Group continued to invest in their systems and processes namely the central call centre and back office systems. This enabled them to design networks of their branches who could easily work together and complement each other’s services. There has been renewed focus on working with lenders leading to an improvement in mortgage offerings and products for clients. Remaining hugely profitable Connells Group is an excellent example of a professional business providing quality levels of service.

Shortlisted: Andrews & Partners, haart

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Globrix

How to boost your online presence Since bursting onto the portal scene in 2008, Globrix has gone from strength to strength. Launched in partnership with News International, publishers of The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Times and The News of the World, Globrix unique technology and business model means that it is now the UK’s definitive index of properties for sale and rent.

Unlike other traditional portal models, Globrix sought to offer a different proposition to agents which they’ve achieved through free listings and a vast array of search options over and above their competitors. Keyword specific searches are available, enabling buyers to search properties by features such as swimming pool, fireplaces or by number of en-suites. Also offered are map based searches and the option to check price changes. Uniquely, Globrix don’t capture data themselves through their site but re-direct customers straight through to agents’ own sites allowing them to capture client information directly.

Daniel Lee, Chief Executive and co-founder of Globrix comments, “We’ve done extensive research into consumer habits and it’s a fact that the majority of people prefer to go directly to estate agents’ websites to find out more about the properties they are interested in. Globrix enables them to do this whilst providing the simplest way for them to search the largest amount of available properties.

“Our aim is to be the conduit that passes people from the portal through to the agents’ individual sites. Simplicity is key so we’ve kept our site easy to use and uncluttered so consumers can easily navigate around our content. This approach has seen us become the largest provider of visitors to estate agent websites of any portal and second only to Google.”

Recently pledging to continue their ‘free to list’ policy, Globrix offers agents a comprehensive level of extra services to boost their presence on the site and the internet. Individual upgrades can be purchased or the Globrix team can design bespoke packages for businesses to meet their needs. The sheer volume (monthly searches number in the millions) of unique visits to their site has meant that Globrix is in possession of a vast level of data, information and insight into the property market, making them an authority on the home buying process. They use this information to ensure their offering is fully tailored to agents’ needs whilst all the time retaining their understanding of customer motivation.

Daniel continues, “Agents can improve their presence by specifically advertising through Globrix and as we limit the number of ads allowed in one area, agents are reassured that their branding will be prominent and exclusive, not fighting for space among hundreds of competitors. For instance, only two estate agents would be allowed to advertise on searches for properties in the Putney area, making the ads more relevant for users and more attractive for advertisers.”

Globrix also employ dedicated staff who can offer advice and consultancy to agents on maximising their online presence in its entirety. A key objective for Globrix is to assist agents in realising the potential of the internet reaches far beyond that of their own website; buyers are searching for properties 24/7 via online and mobile phones, through portals, social media sites and mobile downloads and this will only increase in the future. With this in mind, a mobile version of Globrix is being further improved for the iPhone to increase the ease with which buyers can search.

Through the expert team at Globrix, agents can discover how to increase traffic and lead generation, utilise market intelligence to improve their technology offering and expand their results through search engine optimisation. New advanced search features are to be launched in December including the ability to access recently sold data for every property on a map allowing consumers to view the properties that have sold in their areas of interest.

Also on offer for agents is AgentGlobrix where agents can register to receive weekly traffic and stat reports and free marketing materials.

Agents will also be included in the Agent Directory, a facility enabling Globrix users to connect with estate agents in their area, increasing their exposure to their brand. Registered users will also receive instant access to Tech Support and this week Globrix added a new feature, “Email to All”, which allows their users to easily contact agents in their desired location.

Daniel adds, “These leads will be delivered direct to businesses AgentGlobrix accounts via email and to the "lead" section within AgentGlobrix. The "Email to All" feature is on the top right of every search page on Globrix allowing easy access for clients.”

Globrix is constantly developing; recently launched in Ireland, they also power property searches for TimesOnline and The Scottish Sun amongst others and it can’t be long before we see them expanding internationally. Having started with an impressive proposition, they have kept building on their original model to constantly enhance and perfect their offering. The sheer volume of traffic to Globrix.com by consumers and the presence of the majority of UK agents including all the larger agencies is testimony to this authority and dedication.

Remember Globrix sends visitors and leads direct to your website and so you need to register with Globrix or use tools such as Google analytics to see just how much you are getting.

For more information on how you can use them to help you please go to www.globrix.com or email info@globrix.com

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The award for Best Lettings

Overall Winner BEST UK LETTINGS

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Finders Keepers Opened nearly 40 years ago, Finders Keepers is a professional family run business constantly seeking new ways to expand and improve services for both tenants and landlords. Launched as an acquisition service, they moved into property management following client requests, subsequently adding three more innovative services; interior design and furnishing, building and renovation services and a dedicated student letting service. Their respect in their local area is due in no small part to their commitment to corporate social responsibility and support of local causes – a recent initiative involved 212 landlords raising money through the “Donate a Day’s Rent” campaign. Strong believers in hands-on property management, with dedicated managers for each client, they have a high property retention rate; one outstanding feature of their customer service policy is 24/7 in-house emergency help including a representative available on New Year’s Eve. High levels of trust exist between Finders Keepers and their landlords, which enables them to offer flexibility to potential tenants through a common sense policy combining personal judgement with 3rd party reference. Finders Keepers staff state that “they love letting property” and the sheer volume of ideas and innovations demonstrated and actioned by every member of the team shows a quality, well run firm offering a fantastic service to landlords, tenants and their team.

Large Lettings Gold – Your Move Forward thinking in its approach over the last 12 months to protect the firm, landlords and tenants, Your Move has finessed their systems and processes ensuring they are highly robust in protecting and controlling clients’ money and fully compliant with industry standards for network and franchised offices alike. New ideas and advice for tenants and landlords include assistance with property running costs, marketing campaigns and effective, affordable insurance products. Fully utilising audits, training and products, Your Move clearly demonstrate an understanding of every aspect of the lettings process from every perspective making their lettings service truly impressive.

Silver – Sequence Sequence remains very focused on delivering quality customer care. The firm has expanded its training team this year and remains committed to training and development of its staff motivating the team to ever greater things. Judges were impressed by several new initiatives including their ‘11 / 12’ rent scheme whereby tenants pay 11 months rent for a 12 month period. Sequence has introduced a corporate landlord division to focus directly on the provision of tailored solutions for large corporate clients which is proving very successful. Coupled with a continued commitment to compliance, a robust infrastructure and auditing processes as well as ongoing investment in their IT and portfolio management system, Sequence Residential Lettings is a force to be reckoned with.

Bronze – Countrywide Residential Lettings Countrywide’s investment, innovation and determination during an uncertain financial 12 months cannot be overlooked. They recognise that their team make the firm great and with well trained, confident staff comes excellent customer service; their continued investment and attention to detail in their staff training and development programme is inspiring. The customer service control is outstanding and innovations such as helping landlords to minimise void periods and unique offers for tenants have provided real and practical help to both landlord and tenant, demonstrating Countrywide’s commitment to providing quality service across their entire lettings offering.

Shortlisted: Andrews & Partners, haart Lettings

13

ARPM

ARPM brings a new model and a new approach to the lettings market In less than two years since its inception, ARPM has established itself as the largest company in the UK offering specialist outsourced tenancy administration and property management services exclusively to estate and letting agents. Its success has been built on taking a bold new approach to lettings management and offering agents throughout the country a new alternative model that delivers all of the positive benefits of running a successful lettings practice without the costs and overheads traditionally associated with such a venture. ARPM is the brainchild of managing director, Simon Duce, who this year has been asked to be one of the judges of the Estate Agency of the Year Awards.

Having established his letting agency in 2007, the history of ARPM began in January 2008 when Simon, having had significant experience of other industries, saw an opportunity to translate some of the lessons he had learned into the estate agency sector.

The ARPM service challenges the accepted wisdoms of how to manage a lettings portfolio and offers a pioneering new approach to estate agents seeking to enter the lettings market or refine their existing offer.

The ARPM service allows estate agents to concentrate on the front end of the lettings process: the valuation, marketing and viewing whilst ARPM will complete the tenancy administration and property management.

In the relatively short time since its creation, ARPM has become the leading player in the UK market and continues to grow even in demanding market conditions. Simon Duce continues to apply the knowledge and experience he gained from outside the sector to seek further innovative solutions to the particular challenges of estate agency.

Simon Duce continues: “I am committed to continually developing our service both in response to client demands, such as our newly added inventory service, and to learning lessons from other industries. The Estate Agency of the Year Awards judging process has given me a great chance to continue that learning process by meeting some of the most progressive thinking people within our industry. I’d like to hold up every one of the entrants as beacons of what can be achieved by creativity, the embracing of new ideas and hard work even when faced with the harshest of market conditions.”

ARPM is a member of ARLA, the Property Ombudsman Scheme, the National Approved Lettings Scheme and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

The company’s most recent initiative has been the call for the establishment of a national register of landlord’s contractors.

ARPM can also help those agents who want to take on more managed properties but do not have staff capacity, resources or office space and those seeking to reduce their property management costs without comprising on service to their clients

“Our industry is presently engaged in a wider debate surrounding the licensing of agents and the benefits that licensing will deliver in ridding the industry of rogues and protecting the reputations of the vast majority. However, it is important to remember that everyday, letting agents throughout the UK are putting their hard earned reputations at risk through the hands of unregulated contractors.

Each time an agent hands over a client’s keys to a tradesman he is gambling with his reputation. The vast majority of tradesmen are trustworthy and reputable but there is always a bad apple in every barrel and picking that one can have catastrophic repercussions for any local agent,” explains Duce.

Crucially ARPM has no conflicting front-office lettings function ensuring that all the company’s customer agents do not feel threatened by a possible loss of business to the outsourced specialist.

“By establishing a national register of landlord’s contractors we can, to continue the analogy, check every apple before it is put in the barrel, preventing agents from having to continue gambling with their reputation.”

Simon Duce is adamant that APRM must be seen as offering an opportunity and not a potential threat to any partner agent:

Simon will be delighted to talk to anyone who feels they can contribute to the debate or who would like to know more about the services ARPM offer.

It allows any agent considering launching a lettings service to add a valuable source of additional income to their business but do not have the resources or time for tenancy administration and property management. Agents who find themselves constantly dealing with rent arrears and maintenance problems can, by using the ARPM service, concentrate on winning new business.

“Every agent is rightly protective of the customer base they have built up. By not offering any front office function of our own we can guarantee our agency partners that we are just that – long term mutually benefiting partners. However good our service to the landlords and tenants we provide no future threat to the business of our agents.”

ARPM clients – from established independents to the multi branch estate agents and franchised networks – rely on our seamless back office solutions to provide a professional lettings department, whether for a single agency or a national network. It’s the service everyone can count on.

Sponsored by

The award for Best Lettings

Medium Lettings

Small Lettings

Gold – Finders Keepers

Gold – Young London

Finders Keepers is an independent, family run business with an innovative outlook who are always seeking ways to expand their offering to benefit their clients. Starting as a search and acquisition service, they now offer furnishing and interior design services, building and renovation services as well as a dedicated student lettings service. Their attention to detail means they attract high quality tenants which makes the whole lettings process easier and in turn leads to satisfied landlords. Their vast experience coupled with investment in their team, comprehensive training programme and authoritative market reports has led to market dominance in their region and a well deserved gold medal.

This agency really impressed the panel with their attention to detail and excellent standards of service, setting them apart from many of their competitors. Directors are extremely hands-on recognising landlords and tenants have a choice of agents. Their knowledge and authority on industry developments and their local areas is extremely impressive as is their monthly market report which is sent out to landlords and tenants. An especially nice touch is a welcome pack at each property including a Molton Brown selection and a copy of their hardback book ‘The London Companion’. The professionalism of each high calibre member of the Young Group forms the backbone of their business; they have an analytical approach to evaluating the market and investment opportunities reaping them well deserved rewards.

Silver – Lenwell Property Services A well established highly focused letting agency that has developed unique tools in order to generate better customer service and greater business efficiency, Lenwell is a worthy silver winner.

An in-depth understanding of the importance of measuring procedures and a focus on auditing has led to greater market share and strong customer confidence in their service offering. The managing director sits on a number of strategic boards and new insights are communicated to the teams through regular meetings and they fully recognise the value of a good team and offer excellent training and incentives. Absolute commitment to ensuring landlords are well versed in current legislation and regulations has minimised issues and enabled clear communication between landlords and tenants. Continuing to profit in an uncertain market is testimony to the hard work, knowledge and dedication of the Lenwell team – their passion is justly rewarded with the silver.

Bronze – Edmund Cude As a business that has been established for nearly 200 years, one would expect the knowledge and expertise of Edmund Cude to be second to none and they don’t disappoint. Their culture of continuous improvement with a high individual training budget has resulted in a ten fold revenue growth over the past three years and a 90% recommendation rate for landlord referrals. Heavy investment in technology has improved systems and processes – to summarise, this is a slick operation with unique ideas and a solid foundation aimed at improving efficiency and customer experience. Inspirational.

Shortlisted: Goodchilds, Intercounty, Northfields

Silver – Newman Residential Lettings Year on year Newmans demonstrate their continuing passion for the industry and desire to be the best, this year being no exception.

Their philosophy that “every customer is the most important part of your day” is intrinsic to their core business belief and is implemented in all areas. Despite the growth of competitors in their area, Newmans has increased market share and their fees as tenants and landlords recognise their excellent reputation has been built on years of experience. The directors are as hands-on as the rest of the team holding face to face meetings and reviews with all clients – a strategy that has paid dividends as they increase their profits and transaction levels and retain over 85% of managed units.

Silver – FleetMilne Residential FleetMilne impressed the judges with the clear, professional image they portray in all areas of the business. The company is run with a passion to please the client and leave them with the feel good factor; director Nicola was named ‘Birmingham Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ by Birmingham Future and also ‘Emerging Leader in the Small Business Category’ by the Institute of Directors. All staff are involved in a successful training programme, as they continue to set the standard within their field. One outstanding point of difference was the translation of many of their publications into various languages. One to watch.

Bronze – Roberts Newby Roberts Newby has always strived for innovation in their approach to agency; in their area they were the first agent to open seven days a week with at least one senior member of staff available every day.

A “try before you buy” scheme allowing potential tenants to buy during the period of their tenancy has proved to be very successful during the downturn in the property sales market and has enabled them to increase their market share encouraging repeat business.

The team is all highly trained, hardworking and conscientious, always going the extra mile. This company has reached all the targets they have set themselves in the last year and deserve the Bronze award for their achievements.

Shortlisted: Jon Hallett, Pennington, Milton Ashbury, Scott Fraser

15

Sponsored by

The award for Best Customer Service

CUSTOMER SERVICE G OL D

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Newman Estate Agents For sheer weight of initiative Newmans has harnessed the challenges of the recession to hammer the customer service issue with all guns blazing and their ability to secure an average fee of 2.3% in a predominantly 1% area is testimony to their popularity. They have embraced difficult conversations with clients and their strong focus on an empathetic and straight-talking approach has gained respect.

Utilising a mix of tried and tested methods and new initiatives, their dedication to providing fantastic customer service is the result of excellent leadership and clear standards. The directors set a great example from the MD helping a seller physically clear a property struggling to sell to another director helping a client redecorate proving that the delivery of quality service is integral to their business.

Having won the silver award last year, Newmans have taken their service delivery to the next level and truly deserve this award.

Greene and Co Greene & Co deserve this award for their vision and an undistilled commitment to everything that customer service stands for. The MD’s personal phone number is on all stationery and every member of the team shares his vision for excellence with their non-negotiable standards entrenched in the company’s ethos. Every client receives a personal letter from the MD following completion and a nice touch is the concept of the “Mother Call” to clients following their move to enquire if they’ve settled in well and need any further help. Greene & Co have excellent measuring and reward systems in place to highlight members of the team who are doing particularly well and best practice is shared with the whole company to encourage ever higher standards to aspire to. The company’s philosophy of continual improvement whilst maintaining a focus on results is refreshing and they are deserving winners of this award.

Martyn Gerrard With seven offices in the north London area, Martyn Gerrard is a great example of an older agency that has reinvented itself in order to lead the way in customer service. The sheer enthusiasm of the MD certainly cascades through his staff who are highly conscious that the name above the door has a fine reputation to uphold. Despite the recession, the company has invested in new back-office technology in order to free up time to spend in direct customer contact with the specific intention of building rapport and being able to provide constructive feedback, ideas and advice to clients as quickly and efficiently as possible. Frequent mystery shopping is conducted, with good practice highlighted and rolled out across the company and all customer satisfaction surveys are anonymous demonstrating a genuine interest in what customers have to say. Strong community involvement earns them high levels of referral business.

A strong agency with a great understanding of their customers – congratulations.

Shortlisted: Ashington Page, Connells, Campbells, Lynch & Co.

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• Head Hunt • Mystery Shop • Extensive Profiling • Referencing • Database Search • Job Postings • Blanket Mailings Finding the right personnel is never easy, especially in a recession as key individuals leave the market for other sales positions. However, a Head Hunter can approach individuals who are currently in work locally, giving you an added bonus of candidates with invaluable knowledge and experience who can ‘hit the ground running’.

Each client will receive a tailor made service that suits their requirements, from communication right through specific candidate profiling. This allows us to give you a highly effective service, and to make sure your recruitment procedure is as smooth and pain free as possible.

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Sponsored by

The award for Best Franchise

FRANCHISE

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Goodchilds Goodchilds set itself up as a franchise operation from day one and it shows. Their systems and processes are second to none and as a result the growth of the business has been built on a solid foundation but not at the cost of initiative and individuality of the company. Growth is controlled through a combination of thorough vetting procedures for potential franchisees, strong support for franchisees and a policy of not increasing profitability by more than 50% annually. All franchises are visited once a week and there is real emphasis on measuring activity and productivity to ensure transparency through all areas of the business however there is a good balance between autonomy from the central office and control for the franchisees. Strong on their brand values, Goodchilds manages to successfully marry this with flexibility for their franchisees. Not a business in a box – Goodchilds is a fantastic example of how to do it right and their gold award is well deserved.

Xperience An established franchise operation, Xperience is one of the leaders in the field. Offering franchises in both sales and lettings, a far reaching vetting process means opportunities to run a combined sales and lettings offices is only open to those with industry experience and once candidates have proven themselves, they’re given autonomy over their business. An extensive team of central staff provide high quality, knowledgeable support from the start and this continues throughout the life of the business with the provision of forums, training, intranet, newsletters and annual conferences. All franchisees undergo exhaustive training including a week long residential course and guidance from independent advisors on all subjects from business plans to pre-marketing and launch. It was clear that franchisees feel protected yet enjoy a high level of autonomy across their business, a policy which has enabled many to exit and sell at a profit; this can only be good for the individual and the parent company. Congratulations on the silver award.

Winkworth Winkworth has a strong focus on the requirements and support for their franchisees which has led to a professional and well-established set up. Franchisees are given the opportunity to develop their own bespoke service based on their knowledge of the local market ensuring autonomy for them over their own business. A wholly franchised business, the support services are geared 100% towards franchisees and offices are carefully located according to exclusivity but with an understanding of movement migration so some office locations complement each other, increasing business. The first franchised estate agency operation, Winkworth has increased turnover every year since its inception and retains several franchisees who have been with them since the beginning. Looking to expand their overseas offering, Winkworth is a giant in this area and continue to innovate.

Shortlisted: Hunters Property Group

19

myhomemove

Leading conveyancing provider myhomemove seeks additional ways to give customers choice. other panel firm is producing a scorecard. This scorecard outlines KPI’s and how the law firms have performed. The scorecards are then issued, enabling the agent to recommend dependent on quality, service, choice and value. AND more importantly, the knock on effect is that all panel lawyers will be aware of what shortfalls they need to overcome in order to raise their game.”

In recession hit Britain customers are more likely to shop around, check out internet blogs and ask friends before making any major purchase decision – it’s all about informed choice. In response to this need, myhomemove, the largest independent provider of conveyancing in the UK has launched a new Premier Panel, that provides an easy to use, straightforward solution enabling Estate Agents and IFA’s to recommend conveyancing to a choice of local lawyers, or directly to myhomemove’s wholly owned law firm, Premier Property Lawyers Ltd.

Jo Culley of DB Roberts a 13 branch estate agency firm in the Midlands have been using Premier Panel for the last couple of months and are delighted by the success they’ve had with Premier Panel so far. Jo commented: “Since signing up with Premier Panel, DB Roberts have increased conveyancing referrals by 64% which equates to approximately 50% of incremental revenue. We still work with our local lawyers, but are also referring business directly to Premier Property Lawyers via Premier Panel.”

Stephen Hayter, Sales Director at myhomemove explains: “We wanted to introduce a solution that made it even easier for Estate Agents to offer more choice. We’re all aware that there are other panels out there but we wanted to keep things simple for the agent, give the local lawyers a fairer deal and make it straightforward to the client to make more informed choices without shopping around. This can offer significant benefits for agents. Offering a choice of credible conveyancing solutions can enhance an agents reputation and of course increases conversion.”

“The myhomemove team have made the switch to Premier Panel hassle free. What some people would perceive as a big effort for a small reward, Is certainly already paying great dividends.”

To find out more information on Premier Panel, and how it can benefit your Estate Agency, call myhomemove’s Sales Director, Stephen Hayter on 07780 66975.

“Another aspect of Premier Panel is ‘raising the bar’. Member law firms update their case tracking online so agents get a single view of all cases. This has immediate benefits for the agents, but what Premier Panel will be doing which we believe is different to any

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myhomemove's unique Premier Panel solution is designed with the needs of clients, agents and lawyers firmly in mind, giving your clients more credible choices and increasing your conveyancing referrals.

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THROUGH PREMIER PANEL

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RAISING BAR … 1

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CALL STEPHEN HAYTER ON...

07780 662975

OR VISIT... www.myhomemove.com myhomemove is the UK's largest direct provider of mover conveyancing. Legal work carried out through Premier Panel is undertaken by third party lawyers who will be wholly responsible for legal work. Third party lawyers are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

I

1 Taking care of the legal side of moving

Sponsored by

The award for Best Financial Services

FINANCIAL SERVICES G OL D

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FINANCIAL SERVICES SILV ER

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FINANCIAL SERVICES B RON ZE

Connells Connells is a big operator and the sheer scale, infrastructure and professionalism means they are a deserving gold winner. With a strong focus on compliance, Connells employ their own compliance specialist and they have concentrated on introducing new ideas and initiatives to keep their financial services offering fresh and relevant to customers, whilst keeping a close eye on the profitability of these ideas. Their emphasis is on always moving their proposition forward and new products have been introduced following customer feedback with complete awareness of the need to work with both customers and lenders to make any new product or service as easily implementable as possible.

All staff are highly qualified and experienced experts in their fields. Shortlisted in 2008, Connells have upped their game and are heavy hitters in the financial services arena.

Your Move A previous winner, Your Move hasn’t stood still over the past year, continually striving to move their business forward and increase productivity. Anticipating the downturn, Your Move took the hard decisions early and expanded their propositions meaning they have remained highly profitable despite the difficulties in the market. They have grown their insurance offerings over the last 12 months to combat the loss of income through the mortgage slowdown and customer feedback on their products is extremely positive. Recognising the importance of technology, Your Move has improved their website to offer customers more flexibility when selecting their products. This also enables their expert and highly trained staff to engage in more face to face time with customers gaining them considerable repeat business and recommendations.

Reeds Rains Reeds Rains continued investment in training and technology has taken their financial services offering from strength to strength. Recognising the importance of an excellent infrastructure, they have implemented highly efficient systems and processes to ensure both staff and customers can access a great service. Reeds Rains have also put in place strong compliance procedures and monitoring and their comprehensive CRM system means that customer service procedures are maintained. Offering a wide range of services covering almost any buyer need, Reeds Rains are an impressive contender in the financial services area.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Shortlisted: Beresfords

21

Mortgage Talk

Mortgage Talk help develop and grow your Financial Services Business Mortgage Talk is one of the largest independent mortgage brokers in the UK, specialists in the Estate Agency market, with a nationwide network of Franchise Partners already benefiting from their comprehensive mortgage broking and protection package.

Mortgage Talk was named as the “Best Overall Broker 2009” at the prestigious British Mortgage Awards in London in July this year.

Despite a tough market, the team at Mortgage Talk have ensured they not only survived but flourished in 2009 by innovating: diversifying into new income streams, enhancing their Partnership offering and significantly investing in their IT infrastructure.

This year sees the launch of two new significant IT platforms; The first is an end-to-end customer management platform which allows all Business Partners to manage their client bank effectively from point of sale, through the mortgage and protection processing right through to all post sale activities including targeted marketing campaigns; the second is a new Extranet site targeted at all individuals within the Mortgage Talk distribution from Advisors, Negotiators within Estate Agencies, Business Principles etc.

This site will be the key hub for all things Mortgage Talk, including pipeline management, training tips and sales process improvement techniques.

In addition Mortgage Talk have been actively recruiting new businesses into their highly flexible and profitable Partnership

Proposition across 2009, with the addition of Manning Stainton in Leeds, Andrew Craig in Newcastle and Howards Estate Agency in Norfolk to name but a few.

Manning Stainton’s Director of Financial Services, Steve Murgatroyd, believes that signing up to the Mortgage Talk Partnership is an excellent way to improve the service to their sellers, landlords, tenants and purchasers. “In this difficult climate it has never been more important for clients to receive independent mortgage advice from qualified, experienced advisors who access the whole market.”

“We found that after comparing Mortgage Talk’s proposition against other leading brokers they had a greater understanding of our business because of their experience working with national Estate Agents. Manning Stainton is a market leader so it was essential that we chose an innovative partner with strong brand awareness.”

Verona Poynor, Mortgage Talk’s Head of Business Recruitment commented ‘working alongside with several highly regarded Agents, provides the opportunity for us to help all of our partners to take their FS business to the next level. This demonstrates to other estate agencies that despite the market, Mortgage Talk continue to grow and are helping other business to do the same. At a time when we all need creative thinking and out of the box solutions, we are working closer than ever with our partners to survive this market and eventually prosper.”

Sponsored by

The award for Best Marketing

MARKETING

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James Pendleton James Pendleton’s ‘We Live Here’ campaign was particularly impressive. Communicating to clients the fact that all James Pendleton staff live locally to their office, this idea reinforces the innate understanding and pride negotiators have for their local areas thus enabling them to connect with potential buyers. Rolled out across a variety of mediums, this fully integrated campaign was carefully planned, executed and evaluated starting with a very clear strategic objective which was to increase market share and profit and promote the launch of a new office, both of which have been achieved over and above their expectations.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

MARKETING

SILV ER

Fine & Country Fine & Country have been singled out for their overall approach to marketing properties at the top end of the market and the results their various campaigns have achieved. Their lifestyle approach to marketing a property clearly differentiates them from competitors - when selling a house the focus is not solely on the standard property description; they work hard to develop unusual and interesting themes around the property itself and the surrounding area. The quality of the marketing material, both printed and online, is exceptional and the results speak for themselves - an increase in market share of 34% during the recent tough times.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

MARKETING

B RON ZE

Milton Ashbury Milton Ashbury's huge success has been to use Landlord Assist to target areas way beyond the geographical limits of its branch network. By ramping up and rebranding its tenant eviction service it has created a highly competitive, fixed price offering that can be used by landlords, letting agents or solicitors across the country. The timing for this product has been perfect when considering the downturn in the economic cycle and the comprehensive marketing campaign, including vast media coverage, has led to a 240% increase in turnover for Landlord Assist.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Shortlisted: Greene & Co., Marsh & Parsons

Sponsored by

The award for Best Overseas

OVERSEAS

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Fine & Country With over 300 offices covering three continents, Fine & Country’s international offering exposes developers and home owners to an unparalleled global network. Their aim is to develop a brand of estate agents worldwide who trade not only locally but with an international awareness and agents are carefully selected for their expert knowledge, passion and serious dedication to providing a top notch service. An exceptional International Referral System and website links all international properties across every office worldwide and also provides in-depth quality information for every customer appropriate to the area they are interested in. Fine & Country recognise the importance of easily accessible and navigable information for the consumer whilst providing high quality, in depth support for agents. Overseas business partners have full access to marketing, IT, prestigious showrooms, and the ability to network with other high quality agents. Fine & Country’s overseas proposition is a slick and professional offering based on a solid foundation that enables them to provide real global exposure. Fantastic.

Change the monologue to dialogue When customers visit your offices, you ensure that you find out about their needs and sell your services, but when they visit your website, they often leave without saying a word.

This is about to change.

Introducing a revolutionary new concept in website design for estate agents...

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20 years of property marketing magnificence

23

Sponsored by

The award for Best Innovation

INNOVATION

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Reeds Rains Reeds Rains has recognised the growing consumer demand for information on the move and has harnessed i-phone and blackberry technology to expand their service offerings with real benefits to customers. Clients have the ability to search for homes using the GPS on their phones according to their location at that time including directions to the property and access to full property description, pictures and branch information. Opening up a new method of faster property searches from any location, this innovation is of genuine and direct benefit to both the agent and the applicants, and therefore indirectly to the vendors and landlords too.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

INNOVATION

SILV ER

Douglas & Gordon Setting out to implement a system that is an entirely new proposition for the industry, Douglas and Gordon’s ‘My Property Tracker’ is an excellent tool for monitoring sales for both the business and the consumer. Simple to use, it is a powerful, instruction winning tool allowing clients real transparency regarding their sales with instant detailed feedback. Understanding that any innovation needs to show real benefits for the clients, Douglas & Gordon set this up with a clear objective of improving communication and increasing the level of information available to clients and they have more than achieved this.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

INNOVATION

B RON ZE

Northfields Northfields have fully embraced the use of social media including Twitter, Facebook, blogging and search engine optimisation with effective use bringing real tangible results; they have found applicants via twitter, raised their profile locally, connected with their target market and won new clients. The team are fully engaged, all staff blog and tweet regularly to boost the company’s profile, team morale and reinforce their expert knowledge to clients. Steeped in a strong understanding of how and why social media works, the team at Northfields have used social media as a business development strategy which is good for the team and the customer.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Shortlisted: 1st Point Properties, Your Move

Sponsored by

The award for Best New Homes

NEW HOMES G OL D

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Beresfords The more you learn about this family run yet slick and professional company, the more you feel that it is somewhere you’d like to be involved in. They recognise that dealing with house builders and developers is a hugely different proposition to dealing with “traditional” vendors and adjust their proposition accordingly garnering great loyalty from their clients in the process. A low turnover of staff and massive commitment to training ensures the team is highly knowledgeable and expert in their department, reinforcing their position as a dominant force in their region. Their investment in technology is significant and they are leading the way with launching into exciting new uses of the internet including Beresfords TV. A silver winner last year, Beresfords have upped their game and deserve the gold. Congratulations.

Connells Residential The New Homes offering is an intrinsic part of the Connells culture with a massive commitment to this department. A market leader in new homes, they approach their offering from different angles to ensure their products reach as wide an audience as possible. With up to 1000 new build properties on their books at any one time, there is a huge choice for clients but Connells also demonstrate an understanding of the needs of house builders and develop new ways to help them market their properties offering specialist advice and services. Consistently achieving success in this category, Connells offer a comprehensive, coherent service.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

NEW HOMES B RON ZE

Cameron Group The Cameron Group is an extremely impressive and hands-on business. The passion from the directors is clearly communicated to the rest of the team and because of this they are a well respected and innovative business who continue to punch above their weight. Working closely with many well known housebuilder clients, they don’t rest on their laurels but continue to investigate ways of expanding their business and propositions including the development of their website which is excellent. This year sees them taking schemes out to Hong Kong and they are well placed to take the bronze.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Shortlisted: Charters

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Proud sponsors of the

New Homes

category at the Estate Agency of the Year Awards 2009.

Sponsored by

The award for Best Technology & Web

TECHNOLOGY & WEB G OL D

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TECHNOLOGY & WEB SILV ER

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TECHNOLOGY & WEB B RON ZE

Your Move Your Move has invested heavily over the past few years to create a technology enabled customer journey where a consistent level of service can be achieved through all the stages of transaction.

They utilise ongoing search engine optimisation to increase the number of site visits enabling them to maximise opportunities to capture customer information which in turn enhances their personal search and transaction. Their systems are transparent enabling a global view of the customer from all in the company. All of this is technology driven and enables a personal customer experience whilst maximising return for the business through efficiency. A worthy winner that sees technology as a profit driver, not a nice to have. Congratulations!

Knight Frank Knight Frank has invested heavily in technology but where they truly excel is not simply in providing a website and search options that are second to none but in making their tech offering completely relevant to their target audience with an extremely professional and intimate customer experience.

They know and understand their customer and have used this knowledge to create a comprehensive and in-depth view of their property and investment needs. Worldwide search options enable customers to conduct a truly global property search with easily navigated and high quality information. The fact that a customer can be managed intimately across a number of countries is only achievable through innovation and water tight technology.

Lynch & Co Recent re-design of their website has meant Lynch & Co has really upped their game in their local areas. Utilising software which isn’t used by any of their direct competitors has increased their efficiency and customer care resulting in tangible outcomes for the business. Their considered use of technology and their web offering shows a clear understanding of how use of this medium benefits the client and enables more efficient systems to be implemented.

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Shortlisted: Connells Group

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Reapit

Comment by Simon Whale, Director of Reapit First of all I’d like to congratulate all the nominated companies today and it is great to be associated with so many of those attending today. Indeed I always feel a great degree of pride in seeing our clients win so many of the awards.

We have traditionally been the first choice for many agents in the top-end of the residential sales market, including large chains such as Knight Frank, Hamptons, Strutt and Parker, Marsh and Parsons, Cluttons, Jackson Stops and Staff, John D Wood, Carter Jonas and Chesterton Humberts.

However, what has been less well known is how many of the leading independents have chosen our software and been such a huge part of the success story over the last few years with companies like Townends, Bradleys, Hunters, Dacre Son and Hartley, Manning Stainton, Webbers, McCartneys, Greenslade Taylor Hunt, Andrew Grant, Miller and Son, Bidwells and Wilkinson Grant all using our software.

And to round all those off we can assure our clients that scalability isn’t an issue as we have around 1000 of Countrywide’s offices using our software.

In what has been an undoubtedly difficult time in the market, we have still seen a rush of new clients almost all upgrading from the legacy packages that are out there. These legacy systems may have shown themselves up as a hindrance in a bubbly market but what is clear is that when things get tough they actively hold back the business.

As such over the last 18 months we have had to expand to 5 offices in the UK with sites now in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Milton Keynes and Edinburgh, to help support our growing client base around the country. We’ve predominantly built this impressive client base on client recommendations and word of mouth but we feel this is a fitting juncture to announce ourselves to the wider market. What better way to do that than to be sponsoring the Best Technology/Web award.

A good software solution is key to running a thriving agency. The right software package will save agency time, money and resource, by organising each of the agency’s functions, allowing the whole company to work as one team. Our software is ideal for any size of agency, be it small or large, with no big, up-front cost as we offer a monthly subscription service, backed by a dedicated support team.

Training Of course so many of the companies here today will put a lot of their success down to training and we agree wholeheartedly with this approach. Our dedicated, on-site initial and six-monthly training with Reapit is also included in the overall price, as we are totally transparent in our charging – we know that on-site training directly benefits an agency which is why it is included in our offering.

Changing Software We understand that the thought of changing software can be daunting but we have a proven track record in migrating companies over to Reapit and what’s more we take the biggest objection out of the decision making process by bringing your existing data with you.

We are the only software providers in the market that specialise in such a comprehensive data conversion service, which leads to improved instruction generation, by allowing agents to contact past vendors and applicants. It it tried and tested and certainly I don’t need to tell the companies gathered here today the value of the client data locked away in their systems. This service genuinely improves lead generation from past vendors and applicants and we are delighted to be able to offer this as part of our software solution to all agents.

You don’t need to be concerned either about being guinea pigs, as we’ve been doing this for years and can always cite a number of reference sites for you to talk to so you can see how comprehensive the service is. Certainly if you’re using Solex, Estatecraft, GMW, Encore, Estate Agent Pro or any number of the existing legacy packages that are out there we’re going to be able to show a long history of successful upgrades.

Good luck to everyone today and we’d be delighted to talk further either on the stand or on 0845 3302965 or visit www.reapit.com to see what our clients think about us.

Sponsored by

The award for Training & Development

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

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Newman Estate Agents Newmans demonstrate a clear passion for training and development, adapting their highly structured training schedule to accommodate the changes in the market which has in turn allowed them to increase rather than restrict training whilst ensuring they can maintain market share. The company has made a virtue of tough times by becoming inventive and widening their skills - one of their most impressive initiatives was to pay for an enthusiastic team member to retrain in design software, funding his training and equipment thus enabling them to cut their design and marketing budget by 75%. Every aspect of their training programme is designed to ensure that not only are the staff as highly qualified and informed as possible but also to ensure they are recognised by the public as qualified and knowledgeable professional people. Also helping to develop the skills and confidence of the staff are the updating of the website and the creation of short videos, both of which were in-house ventures. Showing real improvement from the bronze award in 2008 Newmans are worthy winners.

Finders Keepers This company has stuck firm to their strong belief in individual training and development with a lot of effort put into bespoke training plans designed in response to feedback from staff. They are firm believers in a combination of formal qualifications and on-the-job coaching with a strong onus on the teams teaching and influencing each other. New staff are asked their opinions about the business with a view to seeing it through “fresh eyes” and there are cash prizes for new ideas upon implementation.

They have embraced the power of great photography when it comes to speeding transactions and interest and have offered their staff courses in professional standard photography. Finders Keepers staff also have one to one modules in copywriting, elocution lessons and managing people. The directors understand the importance of motivating team members to keep fully up to speed with all the latest industry developments and legislation so that they in turn are respected and trusted.

A first time entrant, Finders Keepers really impressed the judges.

Northfields Northfields is a company that knows the value of a happy team who enjoy their work. Each new staff member is assigned a personal mentor and given a carefully planned induction incorporating not only industry regulations but full details and understanding of the company’s ethos and structure. Training is ongoing with weekly training meetings for all and the budget was increased this year to bring in additional external trainers and also to maintain their Graduate Trainee programme. The team at Northfields undertake job swaps to gain a fuller understanding of the business and the overriding philosophy is that they value their people and want to make training and development fun and fresh.

A great approach.

Shortlisted: Beresfords, Reeds Rains

Leadership Training and Consultancy

If you train hard, you'll be hard to beat.

Congratulations to all the winners.

To find out about our management training seminars and sessions in 2010 or to apply for membership to The Academy Leadership Group, please visit:

www.estateagencyacademy.co.uk/leadership or call 01372 370889

The award for Best Prestige Property

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Wetherell Everything about Wetherell epitomises prestige. Started by Peter Wetherell 25 years ago and based in the heart of Mayfair, they specialise only in Mayfair properties and truly are the local experts with a clearly demonstrated passion and knowledge of their local area and an extremely visible presence in the local community. But the prestige comes from more than just their location; independently owned and clearly very professionally managed, they have avoided falling into the trap of being a ‘good old fashioned local firm’ and demonstrate a highly innovative use of all media including internet TV technology on their website and developing uses for Twitter, Facebook and blogs. Their marketing material is authoritative but relevant – they believe in giving something back to their potential buyers with informative and humourous communications. In short, Wetherell is a slick, professional, approachable and definitely prestigious company without a hint of arrogance – a truly deserving gold winner for a firm clearly selling the very best of UK real estate.

Beresfords Beresfords aims to create a luxury home offering through their Country Homes proposition and they certainly tick all the boxes demonstrating exemplary local knowledge. Their understanding of the need for professional communications, extensive investment in technology and a demonstrable perception of who their client is, all serve to ensure their prestige offering is extremely professional.

Beresfords have dedicated staff for their prestige homes section and have an extremely low staff turnover. They are leading the way with the launch of Beresfords TV utilising it effectively to show off their luxury homes with real, tangible results for the business.

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Garton Jones Solely operating in Westminster and South West London, Garton Jones are a nimble and innovative specialist agency. With up to 75% of their buyers coming from overseas, their marketing collateral and communications are informative and demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of their local area.

Leading from the director down, the company’s values are understood by all the staff who work hard to ensure these are emphasised to the clients – a philosophy that works as most new clients are via direct recommendation or repeat business and they have increased their market share through the downturn. Garton Jones is an innovative small business which dominates its local market.

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Shortlisted: Lynch & Co.

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The Estate Agency Events award for Outstanding Contribution to Estate Agency

Bill McClintock For the third year running, the organisers of the Estate Agency of the Year Awards are thrilled to present this special award to a truly deserving individual who through their unwavering dedication and loyalty to the industry has helped improve the reputation and service of estate agency.

Set up in 2007 to publicly recognise and reward those who have made an enormous contribution to estate agency whether in terms of raising standards, improving public perception or implementing innovative and forward thinking ideas, the 2009 award is presented to Bill McClintock.

This year Bill celebrates 50 years in the industry; it was in 1959 he started in a junior position and worked his way up to become Managing Director of Royal Life, responsible for 250 offices having held many positions of authority in the industry both in the UK and internationally, including the role of International Development Director for Hamptons with responsibility for Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, helping many people leaving Hong Kong before its transfer to China find UK homes.

Bill McClintock

Always looking for ways to improve industry standards, Bill co-founded the Guild of Professional Estate Agents with this intention, a position he still holds, and they now have a network of over 700 agents, each charged with being an ambassador for estate agency in their region as well as 300 Fine & Country offices. In 2003 Bill became the Chief Operating Officer for The Property Ombudsman and in 2004 was appointed to the role of Chairman. Not content to stop there, Bill is also chairman of the steering committee for the Register of Property Agents, whereby standards of behaviour of individuals within the industry would be more closely monitored. This will provide greater protection for the public through the ability to demand higher professional standards from those who advise the public, improving industry and agent standards even further.

During this busy professional career, he has also dedicated considerable time to parochial church council duties in the various Hampshire parishes in which he has lived and also to serving on Lockerley Parish Council.

He remains a Fellow of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the National Association of Estate Agents, upholding the highest professional standards in his own business life and assisting others to do the same through his leadership and guidance.

Bill has done a great deal to promote fairness for consumers and has been striving to raise industry standards at a time when most people would have been looking forward to taking a well-earned retirement. Respected by his peers for his unswerving commitment to bettering the industry and the public perception of estate agency we are delighted to present him with 2009 EAE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Estate Agency.

Thank you to the Judges

The Estate Agency Events team would like to say a huge thank you to this year’s judging panel:

Chairman of the Judges Christopher Hamer – The Property Ombudsman

Panel of Judges Piers Banfield – Group Sales & Marketing Director, Banner Homes Godfrey Blight – Managing Director, Sales & Marketing, GMAC-RFC Chris Brown – Chris Brown Consultancy Owen Burns – Industry Expert & Trainer Peter Chapman – Estate Agency Trainer, TM Training & Development Simon Duce – Managing Director, ARPM Clare Fletcher – Clare Fletcher Training Mark Hayward – Compliance Expert Daniel Lee – Chief Executive, Globrix David McMaster – Director, Jordan's McMaster Residential Lettings Sean Newman – Owner, Newman Estate Agents Julian O'Dell – Estate Agency Trainer, TM Training & Development Jill Parsons – Freelance Property Journalist Richard Rawlings – Estate Agency Insight Michael Robson – Chief Executive, Andrews & Partners Dom Toller – Managing Director, Property Earth Julie Twist – Managing Director, Julie Twist Properties Adam Walker – Adam J Walker & Associates Julie Westby – Lettings Specialist Charlie Wright – Founder & Architect, the bu2iness.com

A special thank you is also extended to Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive, NFOPP who kindly served as an arbiter during the judging process.

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To view the list of successful agents please visit the winners’ website at: www.estateagencyoftheyear.com/2009

Understated quality.

The facts speak for themselves. We reach 3.2 Million readers every Sunday and have more ABC1s than any other National Newspaper (87% of our readership)* As an estate agent, it’s where you need to be.

F]]\i`e^ X[m\ik`j`e^ jfclk`fej kf Zfm\i Xcc Yl[^\kj% :fekXZk k_\ gifg\ikp k\Xd fe ')'. +/( (0/- fi \$dX`c1 gifg\ikpX[j7e\nj`ek%Zf%lb *Source: NRS Jan 09 – June 09

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The Chapel, Reigate Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8RA 01372 370837 info@estateagencyevents.com www.estateagencyevents.com