On Friday 10th June, hundreds of leading letting agents from across the UK attended a glittering ceremony at The Lancaster London Hotel where the winners of the most highly regarded awards in the lettings industry were revealed. The winners were presented with their awards by rugby and Olympic leadership legend Sir Clive Woodward, with renowned journalist, author and newsreader Penny Smith acting as compere.
Award winners were decided following a rigorous and thorough judging process by a panel of 20 industry experts who assessed initial entry submissions before conducting an extensive review of the entrants, including over 150 hours of telephone interviews and independent mystery shopping exercises. The judging process was overseen by The Property Ombudsman Katrine Sporle, and Mark Hayward of the NAEA acted as Arbiter.
The winners were competing for property management and overall awards by size of business and/or region and also in a number of specialist categories from marketing to relocation. Individual managers and negotiators were also recognised for their hard work and commitment to customer service in four different categories, along with the award for Outstanding Contribution to Lettings, and the Supplier of the Year awards.
Now in their seventh year as a dedicated competition for the lettings industry, these awards have become widely recognised as the most prestigious and difficult to win. With more entrants than ever before, thousands of British lettings and property management offices were represented this year, but only the very best of the best were crowned as winners.
Our Award Winning Day at the ESTAs
Winning awards isn’t anything new at Anthony Pepe, yet the Directors and team continue to appreciate each award presented to us with immense gratitude just as we did for our first award back in 2011. In the past 12 months alone we’ve won four prestigious awards and this recognition is enjoyed in each of our three branches. Words such as honour, pride and teamwork are echoed throughout North London as we spoke with members of the team after our most recent win.
On Friday 15th April, Charlie and nine members of our Anthony Pepe family attended the ESTAs (Estate Agent Awards) at the Grosvenor House in London. Before the awards had even started we were honoured to have been shortlisted in every category that we entered, this accomplishment was then exceeded as our new Highbury branch won Gold for Best Letting Agent and our Harringay branch won silver for the same award. We had done it, the sense of achievement was incredible and it was certainly a day that we won’t forget for a while!
After a brief celebration, it was straight back to business for our Managing Director, Charlie, as he focuses on continuing to be the best.
“With the recent ESTAs win, it means we have been recognised as the best in our region at every major award ceremony in the last few years, including The Sunday Times awards in both Sales and Lettings, Gold at The Negotiator Awards, beating the likes of Foxtons, Felicity J Lloyd and Martyn Gerrard etc, and now Gold and Silver for our Region at The ESTAs. We are extremely proud of all the staff and we hope the public recognise as we do that our staff are amongst the best in the business.”
Friday afternoon was filled with nerves and excitement as our team spent the afternoon away from their busy day jobs to await the results of the awards, once they had floated back down to Earth we chatted about the ESTAs experience.
Can you tell us about your day at the ESTAs
Sophie Roe, Sales & Lettings Negotiator, “Really enjoyable, great atmosphere, first awards ceremony I have been to so it was a great experience!”
Martin Arlington, Lettings Manager – “I popped into the office in the morning just to make sure everything was ok. I was nervous, as the newest office we had a small number of highly satisfied customers who had voted but we were concerned that some of the other competitors would have more votes. At the end of the day, the quality of the votes cast won and it was satisfying to earn praise for all our hard work this year.”
Susan Babaie, Senior Sales Negotiator, “The awards event was great fun with a lively buzz in the air. The atmosphere was fantastic!”
Maria Zorlakkis, Senior Sales Negotiator, “My day at the ESTAS was sensational. A great buzz with lots of passion from various different companies. I would love to go again.”
Do you have a favourite moment from the ceremony?
Sophie, “Winning our 2 awards. Plus the food and having our team photo with Phil Spencer – I love his TV shows!”
Martin, “Winning! I loved the smoked salmon starter too!”
Susan, “Of course the best bit, apart from the endless bubbly that flowing, was Anthony Pepe being awarded TWICE!”
What does winning these awards mean to you personally?
Sophie, “It feels like a great achievement, makes you feel proud to work for a company which is highly regarded by our landlords.”
Martin, “After 13 years in the industry that my hard work, dedication and knowledge is appreciated by the most important people. Our Customers.
Maria, “Winning the awards to me personally makes me feel grateful for working for such a reputable company where hard work pays off.
What is the best part of working at Anthony Pepe?
Sophie, “The people are all very helpful, friendly and fun to work with.”
Martin, “The support given by our Directors Charlie and Ari to go out and consistently deliver excellent service.”
Susan, “The best part of working for Anthony Pepe is the overall sense of ‘Team’”
Maria, “The best part of working for Anthony Pepe is knowing that everyone has the same goal and we all work together as a team.”