Pinkertons finished off 2014 in tremendous style by receiving the ultimate industry accolade, on Friday 5th December at the UK Estate Agency of The Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times and The Times, held at the lavish Lancaster Hotel in Kensington London.
This award will accompany the two scooped by Pinkertons in June at the UK Letting Agency of The Year Awards where they were crowned as the Best Letting Agent in the Province and the Best Property Management company in the UK!
For the past number of years awards within both the Estate and Letting Industries have become increasingly competitive with the standard of companies being shortlisted rising ever higher. The Sunday Times Awards are firmly established as the most sought-after and difficult to win within the property industry, with over 5,000 offices being considered this year, and only the very best being crowned as winners.
The award ceremony was the culminating event of a rigorous and thorough judging process carried out over a four month period by a panel of industry experts. The panel assessed initial agencies before conducting an extensive review of each shortlisted company, which included numerous telephone interviews and mystery shopping exercises. The entire judging process was overseen by The Property Ombudsman Christopher Hamer to ensure only the best reached the finals.
Erin Johnston, Branch Manager at Pinkertons commented, “I’m extremely proud that industry experts concluded Pinkertons are one of the best Agents in Northern Ireland. We have fantastic team spirit and whilst we know we are good at what we do, for others to recognise us in this way is amazing.”
Erin continued “I think what influenced the judges here is, that despite a tough market place, Pinkertons made the judges sit up and take notice with impressive figures. Profit, income, client retention and new business are all up. Saying that Pinkertons has had a very good year is something of an understatement.
I’m proud that we will be able to use these accolades to persuade more clients to list with Pinkertons as it offers comfort that we really are the best. We are all looking forward to an exciting future for Pinkertons.”
The Judges’ Report highlighted particular qualities of Pinkertons stating “Pinkertons has gone above and beyond to expand its services and reputation in Northern Ireland, which it has achieved with aplomb. It offers a complete package across a variety of services. The determination and passion felt by all the team is obvious and they are led ably from the top by knowledgeable and enthusiastic directors. Through sheer grit and determination Pinkertons has claimed the title of market leader in the area with an impressive market share – often with new business won from under performing agents. The training programme and use of technology and online is on par with that offered by much larger agencies and it is reaping the benefit of big agency thinking with small agency care”.
Naturally Pinkertons were delighted to receive the national awards with Victoria Pinkerton commenting, “Quality industry awards are important, not only do they recognise the hard work and effort that our staff put into their jobs and the quality customer service they deliver, but it is a clear endorsement to any potential customer that Pinkertons is serious about delivering high standards of service in an industry that often receives negative press. Pinkertons is a well rounded agency, with well trained staff; a strong brand utilised in marketing campaigns; value for money performance; consistency across all operations; an awareness of current legislation; fresh customer incentives and a like ability factor. Those are a lot of areas for one agent to cover, but we realised from the outset that each and every one of these facets are essential to the success of our business. These awards really justify our efforts in ensuring our clients’ needs are met and exceeded at every possible opportunity. We have a great brand and an amazing team and to be named as the very best in Northern Ireland is something that we are all extremely proud of.”
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Caption: Michelle Mone, Victoria Pinkerton from Pinkertons and Gary Towns from Zoopla Property Group
