Women in Estate Agency Award debuts at the ESTAS

The first Women in Estate Agency Award winners were announced at the ESTAS last week.

The ESTAS Awards marked its 20th anniversary last Friday with an event sponsored by Coadjute/

Hosted by Phil Spencer, the event acknowledged the industry's passion and dedication, making it a must-attend occasion for those in the industry.

In his introductory speech, Spencer said, “What started as a small luncheon celebrating the hard work of a few estate agents has become what it is today: the biggest and most prestigious awards in the UK residential property sector. It’s your passion for what you do that makes The ESTAS the most important day in the property calendar and with its success, the competition gets harder and harder.”

A significant addition this year was the introduction of The ESTAS WiEA (Women in Estate Agency) Award.

Recognising exceptional talent, five outstanding women were honoured: Wendy Barwell from Sinclair Estate Agents in Sileby, Jayne Holland from Goodfellows Heaton, Stephanie Kipenakis from Addison Townsend in Southgate, Sophie Roberts from Hunters York, and Shelley Webster from Miles & Barr Deal

Verona Frankish, chair of WiEA, said, “I want to thank everyone across the industry who has supported the group, supported the cause and is helping us to create equity and equality for all women in the industry we love and in particular the incredible committee that I work with who are so passionate about creating a better future for women at every level across estate agency.”

Simon Brown, founder of the ESTAS, also spoke of his support for WiEA’s mission, adding: “At ESTAS we believe that more women working within the industry can really help to change the negative perception the public has of the sector in general, so our goal is to work closely with the Women in Estate Agency Group to promote this fact and support all women to develop and grow within their careers.

“As with all our award categories the winners were judged purely on audited customer reviews submitted via the ESTAS review platform and every single woman who works for an agency in the ESTAS community was eligible for one of these awards.”