Competition was stiff this year with a record number of entrants and more than 4,000 UK Estate Agent branches represented at the awards luncheon hosted by Penny Smith.
The Best Small Letting Agency Award - for letting agents with three branch offices or fewer - saw eight letting agencies shortlisted and Young London walk away with the top accolade.
Neil Young, CEO of Young Group, was delighted to receive the award:
"The Young London team's professional approach and commitments to providing the best possible service to landlords and tenants has paid dividends! We're thrilled to have achieved Gold and were particularly pleased by the judges' comments that praised our analytical approach, research focus and innovative use of marketing."
The Sunday Times Awards' judging panel was impressed with Young London's attention to detail and excellent standards of service, noting that it sets us apart from many of our competitors.
They also praised the fact that the Directors are extremely hands-on; recognising that landlords and tenants have a choice of agents and striving to deliver exceptional levels of service. Young London's authority on developments within the property industry and local knowledge, along with our monthly market report LONDON UPDATE, were regarded as "extremely impressive".
A special mention was made of the welcome pack that tenants receive, which includes a Molton Brown gift selection and a copy of Young Group's hardback book ‘The London Companion'.
Summing up, the judges commented:
"The professionalism of each member of Young London forms the backbone of their business; they have an analytical approach to evaluating the market and investment opportunities, reaping well deserved rewards."
The event, now in its sixth year, was this year supported for the first time by The Sunday Times and is widely recognised as the most important in the industry calendar.
Following their initial submissions, each of the winners has been subjected to rigorous scrutiny by a panel of independent industry experts and the whole judging process was overseen by the Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer.
In addition to title sponsor, The Sunday Times, the 2009 awards sponsors included: My Home Move, Mortgage Talk, ARPM, Globrix, Rightmove, Moneypenny, Dove & Hawk, The Academy, Phoenix, Reapit and leading developer, Banner Homes. Once again the Awards were also supported by the Property Ombudsman and leading professional bodies the NAEA and ARLA.
The special achievement award for 2009 was presented to the Property Ombudsman Chairman, Bill McClintock in recognition of his exceptional and continuing contribution to the industry.
Peter Knight, Chairman of the event organisers Estate Agency Events was delighted with the 2009 awards:
"I hope that our record number of entries this year and the very little time it took for the event to sell out is an indicator that we may have reached the bottom of the slump. There is no doubt that 2010 will still be a challenging year for our industry and the absolute commitment to excellence that all our winners have demonstrated will be vital for the industry to return to growth and thrive in the future.
"I cannot commend the examples set by Gibbs Gillespie and the other winners highly enough. The award winners and the participants in the accompanying Leadership Summit and Future Estate Agency and Lettings Live Seminars are shining examples whom I would urge all others to aspire to.
"I would also like to add my grateful thanks particularly to the team at The Sunday Times whose support has helped make the 2009 Awards even the biggest and best event yet."
The chosen charity for the 2009 Awards was Help for Heroes and the event was addressed by the charity's Mark Elliott who explained how money raised will go to help the charity's Launchpad to Life and Combat Stress initiatives which help ex-service people who cannot return to active service and need help re-adjusting to civilian life due to physical or mental breakdowns or injury.
Donations on the day raised £5,000 which will be donated to Help for Heroes via the Estate Agency Foundation, an umbrella charity through which agents' donations go to existing charities that help combat the causes of homelessness.
