Thomas Morris win top Industry Accolade

The top estate agents in the UK were congratulated at a dazzling awards ceremony in London, hosted by BBC Scotland's Fred MacAulay and organised by The Negotiator magazine in association with The Digital Property Group. Thomas Morris Estate Agents were the winner of the Independent Estate Agency Chain of the Year, beating stiff competition from around the country. Clare Bettelley, editor of The Negotiator, says: This year's event is our biggest and best to date, and the quality of our entrants has been staggering. This is testament to their efforts and those of the Negotiator in continuing to strive to further raise industry standards.

The winners of this year's 17 categories clearly demonstrated to our esteemed panel of judges immense professionalism, financial stability and adaptability to the current market volatility the key attributes that The Negotiator Awards ceremony has been established to Negotiator Awards ceremony has been established to celebrate and reward. She adds: The huge success of The Negotiator Awards is why it's been dubbed the top awards bash of the year, which this year more than 600 guests enjoyed. We're already looking forward to planning our next show, which we know will be, once again, characterised by the business nous typical of our readers.

Mark Milner, The Digital Property Groups Chief Executive said: The success of the Negotiator Awards is a testament to on-going excellence within the market, with firms such as Thomas Morris gaining much deserved recognition. It's is a pleasure to celebrate their achievements as well as toast the impressive performance of the estate agency industry in challenging times. The Negotiator organised the event with support from The Digital Property Group, Home Move Box, Alan Mead Recruitment Consultants, Virgin Media, Endsleigh and The Property Jungle. Guests gathered for the celebrations at the prestigious London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane and enjoyed champagne, fine food and a terrific presentation by comedian and TV presenter Fred MacAulay.

The judges included some very distinguished experts including James Caan (entrepreneur and star of Dragons Den), Harry Hill (Former chairman, Countrywide), Miles Shipside (Commercial Director, Rightmove), Mike Goddard (founder and CEO, Belvoir Lettings), Ivor Dickinson (MD, Douglas and Gordon), Susan Fitz-Gibbon (Co-Director, Fitz-Gibbon), Richard Lupo (Sustainability consultant, Sustainable Homes), Bill McClintock (Chairman, The Property Ombudsman), Richard Rawlings (MD, Estate Agency Insight) and Ken Waller (Former Connells Residential). The full Roll of Honour for awards is shown below: Independent Estate Agency Firm of the Year, sponsored by The Property Jungle: Cooke & Co. Independent Estate Agency Chain of the Year, sponsored by Home Move Box: Thomas Morris. National Estate Agency Chain of the Year, sponsored by FindaProperty.com: Chesterton Humberts.

Independent Lettings Agency of the Year, sponsored by Endsleigh: Countrywide Residential Lettings. Residential Auctioneer of the Year, sponsored by FindaProperty.com: Allsop Residential. Block Manager of the Year, sponsored by Globrix.com: Chainbow. Land and New Homes Agency of the Year, sponsored by Globrix.com: Savills New Homes. Residential Mortgage Broker of the Year, sponsored by Home Move Box: Countrywide Mortgage Services. Highly commended: Mortgage Advice Bureau. Green Champion of the Year, sponsored by The Digital Property Group: Ringley Group. Estate Agency Innovation Award, sponsored by Home Move Box: Hunters Property Group – Personal Agent Initiative.

Marketing Team of the Year, sponsored by The Digital Property Group: Accent Property Management. Employer of the Year, sponsored by AMR Specialist Recruitment Consultants: Accent Property Management. Estate Agency Newcomer of the Year, sponsored by Home Move Box: Debbie Fortune Estate Agents. Rising Star of the Year, sponsored by Home Move Box: Matthew Bennett Orchid Estate Agents. Estate Agency Leader of the Year, sponsored by Primelocation.com: Lucy Morton WA Ellis. The Supreme Negotiator Award, sponsored by The Digital Property Group: Romans.