Thornley Groves Voted Winner at the ‘Oscars’ of the Estate Agency Industry

The 2010 Estate Agency of the Year Awards

Thornley Groves received the ultimate industry accolade on Friday 3^rd December by being crowned as the Gold Winner of Best Medium Northern Category at the 2010 Estate Agency of the Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times and The Times, held at the Lancaster London Hotel.

The event, now in its eighth year, is recognised as the most important event in the industry calendar and attracted agents from across the country representing over 4,000 branches. It was once again supported by The Sunday Times and The Times and for the first time, property website Zoopla.co.uk with the winners presented with their awards by one of Britain’s most successful athletes, James Cracknell.

Following their initial submissions, all the entrants were subjected to rigorous scrutiny by a panel of independent industry experts and the whole judging process was once more overseen and supported by the Property Ombudsman Christopher Hamer with Peter Bolton King,  Chief Executive of NFOPP acting as Arbiter.

Ten of the firm’s Branch Managers and Directors attended the glittering awards dinner in London. Matthew Smith, Sales Manager of the firm’s four city centre Manchester offices, along with Carolyn Nichol, Sales Manager at the Sale office, stepped up to receive the award on behalf of Thornley Groves. Carolyn commented “Having worked for Thornley Groves for 11 years I’m extremely proud that industry experts  have concluded that we are the best Estate Agent in the North of England. We have a fantastic team spirit and whilst we know we’re good at what we do, for others to recognise us in this way is amazing.”  Matthew added “I think that what influenced the judges here is that, despite a tough market place, Thornley Groves has been able to identify real buyers who are able to proceed where other agents so often fail and I’m proud that I’ll be able to use this accolade to persuade more vendors to let us handle their property sale.”

The Judges’ Report highlighted the particular qualities of Thornley Groves stating, “By expanding their business in a contracting market, this agency has increased its market share through making sure their business is as reactive and diverse as possible. Using new technology such as iPads and an updated website to provide immediate action and feedback for customers, they are a well balanced, well-run business offering a strong service across the board, from urban city centre flats to top end homes in the leafy suburbs and countryside. Once again demonstrating an impressive dedication to their customers at every point of contact, the team at Thornley Groves is to be congratulated on their jump from the silver in 2009 to this year’s gold. Well done.”

Jason Watkin and Michael Groves, the owners of Thornley Groves, attended the awards with their senior managers. Operations Director Jason commented “This award has put the icing on the cake of an incredible year; despite the distraction of opening two new offices this year we’ve increased our market share and worked hard to innovate and find buyers more quickly and the message of all of that in our submission obviously impressed the judges.”

Michael Groves added “The business was established 20 years ago this year and as we’ve grown we’ve become more adept at understanding the market, what vendors want and what buyers are looking for. We have a great brand and an amazing team; we won silver in the best Northern Category last year which we were very proud of, and to be named as one of the best five firms with between 5 and 25 offices in the whole of the country this year and the very best in the Northern Region, is something that we are all extremely proud of.”

Peter Knight, Chairman of the event organisers Estate Agency Events comments, “I would like to congratulate all those who have won awards at this year’s event. There is no doubt that the market is still very tough, with record lows in the number of mortgages being lent, but these awards clearly demonstrate the absolute commitment to excellence within our industry. This will be vital to help the industry return to growth and thrive in the future. 

“I would also like to add my grateful thanks particularly to the team at The Sunday Times and The Times whose continued support has helped make the 2010 Awards the biggest and best event yet.”

A particularly poignant moment came when the 2010 EAE Outstanding Contribution Estate Agency Award was presented to Sean Newman of Newman Property Services, not only for his contribution to improving the reputation and public opinion of the estate agency industry but also for his personal courage in overcoming an horrific and near-fatal accident in July this year during a fundraising cycle ride. Having started in the industry over 25 years ago, he started Newmans Property Services aged just 21 and has done much for the industry in terms of raising standards and through his personal fundraising philosophy which has seen him raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity.

 The chosen charity for the 2010 Awards was The Estate Agency Foundation which exists to unite the estate agency industry and their customers to work together to combat the causes of homelessness in the UK and help thousands of people at risk of losing their homes through poverty, mental illness, abuse, dependency issues and many other factors.  Donations on the day raised £6,574 which will be donated to The Estate Agency Foundation to distribute to those in need via existing channels.

For a full list of all the award winners please visit: www.estateagencyoftheyear.com

As reported in Residential Landlord earlier this month, the number of tenants registered with Thornley Groves, Manchester’s leading Estate Agent, has increased 117 percent since the start of the year, propelling demand for rented property in the City Centre to an all time high.

This large pool of registered applicants is good news for the city’s rental market, which is currently in high demand ahead of the start of the new University academic year in September.

Demand also looks set to be given a further shot in the arm with the swelling of MediaCityUK, when the BBC finally relocates to the north in earnest later this year.

There is a common misconception about the Manchester property market that too many homes were built too quickly in the peak of the pre-economic crisis years. In fact the number of unoccupied Manchester apartments is relatively low, and even at the height of the downturn in 2008 the city never really struggled for demand for tenants.

As explained by Thornley Groves’ Managing Director, Michael Groves, it is the scarcity of these new developments – rather than a lack of consumer funds – that has caused an increase in demand for rented accommodation in Manchester City Centre in recent years.

“What the period of illiquidity did bring was a halt to new investment in the City Centre, with the real hangover of this being a lack of new development schemes and consequently new homes,” said Groves. “So while demand has grown organically thanks to the increasing affluence of the city and a strong network effect brought about by an influx of tenants seeking to live and work in the City Centre, the stock of available homes to cater for them has not grown at the same rate.”

“There is however, an attractive pool of existing stock available, and the current combination of high demand and affordable homes means that now is the perfect time to invest in the buy-to-let market in Manchester. An investment for example in a City Centre apartment valued at £100,000 could likely be rented out for around £700 a month, providing a total annual income of £8,400 and representing an 8.4% return on investment. This is obviously significantly higher than the 3% return that buy-to-let investors have become accustomed to in the area in recent years, making the current market look very appealing.”

If you are thinking of investing in buy-to-let property in Manchester City Centre, call Andrew Seldon, Associate Director responsible for Manchester City Centre operations for Thornley Groves – Manchester’s leading Estate Agents – on 0161 245 1100 or email manchester@thornleygroves.co.uk.

As the leading provider of property management services in Manchester for the private buy-to-let investor, Thornley Groves have a large team of property managers providing a full property management services to over 1,500 landlords.

This is designed to take away the headache of managing buy-to-let property and is ideal for new investors who are looking to move into the market. If you are interested in this service please contact us directly at http://www.thornleygroves.co.uk/valuation-request/.

Thornley Groves – Manchester’s leading estate agent – is pleased to unveil a very special penthouse apartment located just minutes from the city centre’s bohemian Northern Quarter.

The Luna Street property boasts two bedrooms, en suite facilities, and a spacious living room with floor to ceiling windows. All of this is available for just £250,000.

But wait, there’s more… This unique duplex also comes complete with its very own HUGE roof terrace, including both power and water supply – perfect for summer evenings spent watching the World Cup and entertaining friends!

Manchester city centre has long been recognised as the cultural and entertainment capital of the north. This unique Manchester property grants easy access to the city’s thriving epicentre while providing excellent specification.

The first large double bedroom contains walk-in-wardrobe space, while the second double bedroom comes complete with en suite shower and WC facilities. For the busy city dweller this space could easily be converted into a home office space.

But don’t just take our word for it, make an appointment to come along and see how this spectacular living space compares with other apartments to buy in Manchester! With registered applicants at an all time high in Manchester, and interest in the city centre set to grow even further in the run-up to the MediaCityUK influx later this year, now is the perfect time to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

To arrange a viewing, or for more information about properties to buy in Manchester from the leading Manchester Estate Agents, call Thornley Groves Associate Director Andrew Seldon on 0161 245 1100 for a confidential discussion.

For more information click http://www.homesonview.co.uk/Scripts/FullDetails.aspx?CID=THORMANC&AID=THGRTIBS&PID=TTP05772.

Alternatively, for a free valuation on your own property click http://www.thornleygroves.co.uk/valuation-request/

Property pundits have been proved wrong again with the completion of the sale of a home in Hale village, at a recordhigh pre-financial crisis price, by Thornley Groves, the leading Hale Estate Agent.

The Beech Road property, a beautiful terraced home in the heart of Hale village, was sold for £345,000 in less than a week of being placed on the market. The sale just beats the record high for properties on Beech Road set by Thornley Groves in 2007, prior to the period of mortgage illiquidity brought about by the financial crisis.

There was obviously no shortage of buyers for the house on Beech Road, with the leading Hale Estate agents arranging 5 viewings within the first 48 hours of it coming to the market.

Despite the recent period of property market adjustment in the U.K., there remains a strong interest in properties for

Beech Road Hale Kitchen

sale in Hale and Manchester property in general, as explained by Glyn Reacroft, Manager of the Hale branch of Thornley Groves Estate Agents:

“Thornley Groves maintains a strong list of registered purchasers – and with a flow of interest like that you are always going to be confident of strong sales,” said Reacroft. “However, the sale of the Beech Road property is unique in that it not only represents a return to the strong prices of the market high two years ago, but actually beats them. This is a very positive sign for the market.”

Properties for sale in Hale and indeed those across the entire U.K. market look set to be spurred even further with the abolition of Home Information Packs (HIPs). With this crucial move the bar to marketing your home has been lifted, which means that at last the Manchester property market can start to function normally again.

As Managing Director, Michael Groves, was recently quoted as saying in the Manchester Evening News, Thornley

beech road hale bathroom

Groves Estate Agents feels very strongly that this move has come at the right time for the industry.

Promising as signs such as these may be, the world economic downturn and subsequent lack of market liquidity have undoubtedly taken their toll on the UK housing market in recent years. Here at Thornley Groves we appreciate these concerns and remain more dedicated than ever to helping you sell your home swiftly and for the right price. Our dedication to this goal is confirmed by our client and former owner of the Beech Road property, Julie A. Watson:

“Selling a house within ten days of the For Sale board going up with snow on the ground in the depths of winter was no mean feat, but Thornley Groves did it,” said Watson. “Arranging twelve viewings within ten days with carefully selected people – no time wasters – was no mean feat, but Thornley Groves did it. Thornley Groves did it because from start to finish they were friendly, helpful, courteous & totally professional. Nothing was too much trouble and unlike other companies, where the odd member of staff makes the difference, everyone at Thornley Groves is a team player.”

If you are looking for expert advice on the selling your home, or to request a valuation online, go to http://www.thornleygroves.co.uk/valuation-request/, or alternatively please call us on 0161 941 4111.

To view a short video presentation highlighting why you should trust Thornley Groves to handle your home sale click http://www.youtube.co.uk/thornleygroves

We work hard to provide unrivalled customer satisfaction and it’s our clients and customers we want to impress with service that exceeds their expectations, yesterday our hard work was rewarded when we were honoured with a National award as a direct result of customer satisfaction.

Thornley Groves Estate Agents won the Prestigious Silver award for best UK small Letting Agent Chain.

The ESTAs 2010 were presented yesterday at the Marriott Hotel Park Lane London as the industry honoured the best estate agents in the UK.

The awards were presented by Phil Spencer of Location Location Location at a lavish lunch and ceremony attended by 450 of the UK’s top estate and letting agents.

The agents were recognised for their excellent customer service, as voted for by their clients during 2009. 

Phil Spencer said: “the great thing about the ESTAs is that the judges are the customers, they are not about impressing a panel of industry experts or how well you write your submission or answer questions in a telephone interview, but about the things agents do every day for their clients and customers”

The Letting agent results were determined by research carried out amongst both Landlords and Tenants both of which are a tricky group of people to impress, and these people were asked a series of questions about the service they have received from their letting agent.

Michael Groves  who attended the event is delighted for his team “A very large part of our business is lettings, we are Manchester City Centres and indeed Trafford’s busiest letting agent, our Property Management Department is trusted by thousands of landlords, when dealing with such volumes of flats to let and property rentals it’s important that our people and our systems are the best, this award proves that Thornley Groves have superb people delivering effective and reliable solutions for both Landlords and Tenants, achieved by having some of the best Letting and Management procedures in the whole of the UK”

Over 19,000 votes were received, making the ESTAS the largest survey as well as the most meaningful award scheme in the industry. Spencer also pointed out that there were no categories for the likes of best marketing campaign or lifetime achievement in the industry – “These don’t mean anything to the consumer, these awards are purely about the consumer experience,” he said.

Jason Watkin Operations Director of  Thornley Groves confirmed “an award that recognises customer service is very satisfying, every business strives to give good customer service but it can only be delivered if the employees at every level understand and respond to the needs of their customers every day.  I want to say a huge thank you to our Lettings Managers and our Property Management Department Managers along with members of their respective teams. Our Landlords and Tenants have received a service that motivated them respond to this competition so positively and has put Thornley Groves up there with the best the UK has to offer”

Below are the Results

Best Estate Agent in the UK

Porter Glenny, Barking & Dagenham – Gold
House-Hut – Silver
Sparks Ellison – Bronze

Best Small Estate Agent Chain
Porter Glenny, Essex – Gold
Dale Eddison, Yorkshire – Silver
Bassets – Bronze

Best Large Estate Agent Chain
Countrywide – Gold
Webbers – Silver
Your Move – Bronze

Best Letting Agent in the UK
Martin & Co Glasgow – Gold
Palmer Snell, Wells – Silver
Kerrigans – Bronze

Best Small Letting Agent Chain
Linley & Simpson – Gold
Thornley Groves – Silver
Homes4u – Bronze

Best Large Letting Agent Chain
Countrywide Residential Lettings – Gold
Martin & Co – Silver
Your Move – Bronze

The strategy of stimulating the housing market by providing a direct incentive for First Time Buyers to step on the ladder was announced in today’s budget.

 All first time buyers buying a property with a value up to £250,000 will save up to a maximum of £2,500 that they would otherwise have paid to the government in tax. For those buyers struggling to save for a deposit, that will be a massive help. One of the key things we have yet to find out is how long the suspension of this tax for first time buyers will last. If the stamp duty holiday is for a limited period, it will drive first time buyers to take action now; if there is no timetable within which first time buyers have to make their move, it will have little impact.

Meanwhile The Chancellor has confirmed that the tax on properties being purchased at or above £1 million will increase from its current level of 4% to 5%. Many harbingers of doom are saying that this will be a blow to the housing market, but we would argue that it is not a blow. A buyer paying £1,000,000 for their new home was already going to have to pay £40,000 in stamp duty and is now going to have to pay an extra £10,000, probably less than the price of the home cinema they wanted to install.

Meanwhile many vendors keen to sell property at £1 million or above may be more than willing to reduce their selling price by £10,000 to achieve a sale, so it may not cost the buyer any more. However, the effect is a positive one.Buyers and sellers at the top end of the market will be helping first time buyers buy at the bottom and without this activity then none of the market can move forward. After all there are far fewer buy to let investors buying property to release first time sellers to move up the housing ladde, so we need first time buyers to come in and release these first time sellers to drive the middle and upper levels of the market.

All in all, we at Thornley Groves welcome this change; some pain at the top of the market but the revenues will be used to fuel the flames that are needed to make the housing market warm up again, and that is good for carpet sellers, kitchen companies, conservatory sellers, and the raft of businesses that supply products and services to individuals whose expenditure on such items peaks at those times in their life when they move home. With a more active housing market the whole economy will benefit.

Michael Groves

Managing Director

Thornley Groves Estate Agents

 13:12 Wednesday 24^th March 2010.

 michael.groves@thornleygroves.co.uk

Thornley Groves Estate Agents was awarded Silver in Best Medium sized Northern Estate Agency in a glittering award ceremony in London yesterday.

The Independent judging panel included some of the industry’s biggest wigs including The Property Ombudsman Peter Hamer along with media heavy weights from The Sunday Times, Globrix, Rightmove in addition to other well respected and well informed Estate Agents who were winners from previous years.

The Northern Category is one of the most competitive regions with Agents entering from one of the largest geographical areas including Cheshire, Cumbria, Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Leeds, Merseyside, North and North East, Northumberland, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Teesside, Tyne & Wear and West Yorkshire.

Each firm entering from these areas with between 4 and 25 Branches takes part in the competition for Best Medium Sized Agency.

Thornley Groves Managing Director Michael Groves who was there to collect the Silver award for Best Medium Sized Agency – Northern Region commented

“I am extremely proud of the entire team at every branch and would like to thank them for their continued hard work and commitment. I also want to thank the firms inspirational Operations Director Jason Watkin who has been responsible for so many of our innovative and progressive marketing strategies, I am certain these along with our strong brand and reputation for high quality customer service were the reason we were able to pick up this award in the face of such stiff competition  in such a large geographical area”