The Negotiator Awards 2011 - Estate excellence

by The Negotiator

The Negotiator Awards 2011

Estate excellence

Here's introducing the winners of the biggest bash of the year

The Negotiator Awards 2011 went off with a bang, as 13 firms were awarded for their industry excellence.

Marsh & Parsons swept the floor with an amazing four award wins, including National Lettings Agency of the Year and Marketing Team of the Year. The West London firm was also named the most admired agency by industry peers, earning the team The Supreme Negotiator of the Year, for his inspirational leadership and transformation of Marsh & Parsons, which he acquired in 2005.

The must-attend, black tie ceremony, which marks the start of the festive season, kicked off with a glamorous champagne reception for over 500 esteemed guests. Comic of the moment, Mark Watson, then took the stage to host the night in the glitzy Ballroom at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane in London, entertaining guests with his distinctively dry, witty repertoire before announcing the winners of the 17 award categories.

Multi-award winners also included North London based Ringley Group, which was named Community Champion of the Year for its comprehensive corporate social responsibility strategy, and Innovator of the Year for its software system, which features a virtual concierge service.

The Negotiator Awards 2011 was held in association with Digital Property Group for the fourth consecutive year, with support from fellow sponsors including Endsleigh, The Property Jungle and AMR. Home Move Box sponsored the after show party at Babble nightclub on the capitals world-famous Berkeley Square.

Categories

Entrants battled it out in 17 award categories, which spanned every aspect of agency, including sales, lettings, property management, auctions, and franchising. Talent spotting came in the form of our Rising Star of the Year award, with the night climaxing with The Supreme Negotiator award, recognising and honouring the UKs most admired agency.

New award categories this year included a Community Champion offering, which replaces the Green Champion award. We've broadened our previous criteria to champion agents efforts in supporting their local communities through, for example, mentoring and charity fundraising.

We also introduced a standalone Franchise of the Year award, plus a Property Manager of the Year award, which covers property and block management and which was open to property managers and property management teams.

The Winners

Independent Estate Agency Firm of the Year
The Home Partnership

Independent Estate Agency Chain of the Year
James Pendleton

National Estate Agency Chain of the Year
Foxtons

Independent Lettings Agency of the Year
Gibbs Gillespie

National Lettings Agency of the Year
Marsh & Parsons

Residential Auctioneer of the Year
Clive Emson

Property Manager of the Year
WA Ellis

Franchise of the Year
Martin & Co

Residential Mortgage Broker of the Year
Mortgage Advice Bureau

Community Champion of the Year
Ringley Group

Marketing Team of the Year
Marsh & Parsons

Employer of the Year
Leaders

Newcomer of the Year
Philip Jarvis

Rising Star of the Year
Luke Mason, Belvoir Lettings Hitchin

Estate Agency Leader of the Year
Peter Rollings, chief executive officer,
Marsh & Parsons

The Supreme Negotiator Award
Marsh & Parsons

Community Champion of the Year

Ringley Group

Ringley managing director, Mary-Anne Bowring, returned to the stage to collect her second award of the night, Innovator of the Year, for the firms bespoke software system.

This includes supply chain management. In line with its commitment to operate a paperless office, the firm has been a platform onto which contractors can upload their invoices. The system, www.ringleypanel.co.uk, delivers the invoices to the appropriate manager, who can then authorise them online as well as automatic reminders about for example, insurances and gas certification.

Judges were particularly impressed with a virtual concierge system, which incorporates real-time reporting from the property managers desk to a property blocks reception about key policy and building regulatory updates, plus human resources, training modules for concierge staff.

The judging panel praised Ringley Group for being highly innovative in a tough market.

Innovator of the Year
Ringley Group

Ringley is the first winner of our new Community Champion of the Year. No stranger to The Negotiator Awards, Ringley was crowned Green Champion of the Year at the Negotiator Awards 2010.

The North London-based firm came up against some tough competition from the likes of Croydon-based Streets Ahead and Century 21 UK this year, but the judges were unanimous that the strength of the firms community campaigns were deserving of the top spot for this award.

Ringley, a North London-based chartered firm specialising in block and estate management, has a comprehensive corporate social responsibility agenda, which embraces community issues. In fact, the firm takes the area so seriously that it has appointed a CSR champion to monitor the firms efforts.

These include an ongoing initiative to reduce its carbon emissions, which resulted in a reduction its carbon emissions, which has resulted in a reduction of the firm's car fleet from six cars to three in four years. It joined car leasing firm, City Car, to assist busy offices when required.

The firm also continues to recruit locally, with 53% of its staff now living within three miles of its office. Judges liked the breadth of Ringleys approach to CSR.