Devon estate agency's awards hat-trick

Close on the heels of scooping four golds in the 2014 allAgents Awards, Crediton-based sales and lettings agency, Helmores, is celebrating after winning yet another national award.

For the second year in a row, the 300-year-old firm has been crowned Best Single Estate Agency in the South West at The Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year Awards, and this year added the accolades of Best Innovation and Best Agency to Work For.

The news was revealed at a glittering awards ceremony in front of over 650 leading estate agents at The Lancaster London Hotel opposite Hyde Park. The winners received their awards from celebrity guest, Michelle Mone OBE, one of the UK's most successful female entrepreneurs and founder of international lingerie brand, Ultimo, with renowned journalist, author and newsreader Penny Smith acting as compère.

The awards ceremony marks the culmination of a rigorous judging process carried out by a panel of industry experts, who assessed entry submissions before conducting an extensive review of the entrants. This included hundreds of telephone interviews and mystery shopping exercises, all overseen by the Property Ombudsman. The awards are highly competitive and established as the most sought-after and difficult to win in estate agency. Over 5,000 offices were judged, with only the very best of the best chosen as winners.

Following the announcement that Helmores was the South West winner for Best Single Office, the judges’ report said; “Staff retention at Helmores is excellent and the culture of reward is exemplary, especially when reviewed in the context of this being a single office business. Everyone at Helmores works to a very high standard and with autonomy, to the extent that a negotiator emailed a client from a holiday in Australia to congratulate them on completion.

“Helmores won the gold in this category last year and the panel could see clear development and improvement on its already high standards so is delighted to award this agency the gold once again.”

Helmores is also delighted to receive a bronze award for Innovation. The judges said: “As one of the UK’s longest-standing agencies, the Helmores team is rightly proud of their heritage but are always looking to solidify this reputation with the best in new technology. As country houses on vast estates form a large part of their stock, aerial films are a great way to show them off, and they have seen an increase in these instructions as a direct result of their films.”

Meanwhile, Helmores the cherry on the cake came in the form of a bronze award in the category Best Agency to Work For. Introduced for the first time this year, this award was presented to a select few estate agencies who “… are setting the standard for employee best practice and which should be congratulated on the motivation and loyalty they engender in their teams.”

Rob Stoyle, Owner & Partner of Helmores Estate Agents said: "To win the coveted gold award for the second time in a row is something all of us here at Helmores are really proud of, but to top it off with two more awards is truly amazing. We are constantly striving to be the best and these awards are testament to the determination of all staff to provide a first-class service, so special thanks to our loyal team.”

Phil Morgan, Owner & Partner of Helmores commented: “We look forward to servicing new clients in 2015 that might be encouraged by this accolade; welcoming them into our High Street office with our award-winning team. What a fantastic end to yet another rewarding year!”