Fine & Country

Ask any top sportsman and they will tell you that it's one thing winning a major trophy, but holding onto it is an even greater achievement still. This is exactly what Fine & Country has managed at the foremost International Property Awards 2010, sponsored by Bloomberg Television, Google, Maserati and The New York Times, as well as all of the world's leading estate agency bodies including the RICS and NAR.

At a glittering event at London's Royal Lancaster Hotel attended by over 500 property professionals from around the globe, Fine & Country won the prestigious FIVE STAR award for best estate agency marketing in the UK against strong competition with none of the other finalists achieving anything higher than 'highly commended'.

The best Five Star Continental Winners are then nominated for the ultimate accolade as the world's best in estate agency marketing. The strong competition, to name a few, comprised the likes of Harrods Estates in the UK, Sotheby's International Realty in Europe, and Cushman & Wakefield in Asia/Pacific, as well as the winners of the American, Arabian and African Awards.

There was a deadly hush as the BBC's former Royal correspondent, Jenny Bond read out those immortal words 'and the winner is' and it seemed like an age before she added 'Fine & Country'.

Mike Bidwell, Chief Operating Officer of Fine & Country in the UK enthused "This is another truly monumental achievement in Fine & Country's short yet astonishingly successful history and is testament to the world-wide reputation which the brand has gained for excellence in our field. It is a great feeling to be recognised as the world's best by such an esteemed panel of judges, including Thijs Stoffer, the CEO of ICREA, Lord Bates of Langbaurgh, Hans-Ulrich Berendes of FIABCI, Dina Najia from Bloomberg TV, and James Bacon from Google. Now, to have done it twice in succession leaves me almost speechless. This is a fitting reward for the professionalism and expertise of the dedicated people who work so hard behind the scenes within Fine & Country and our fantastic estate agents who genuinely are world class in the way that they serve their clients".

Fine & Country joins an elite few who have not only won, but then retained their prize, and the award is an accolade which every single office in the network will now benefit from. Malcolm Lindley, Managing Director of Fine & Country Worldwide, added "This is terrific news for everyone involved in our magical Fine & Country brand, and is just reward for what has been a real team effort. Last year's success was a magnificent achievement but after the euphoria died down, it begged the question of how we could surpass that wonderful milestone. I am so proud that we have managed to do that and now we have to set ourselves the challenge of bettering it yet again - ambitious aren't we?"

Fine & Country is a market leading real estate brand specialising in the upper quartile of the property market, operating in over 450 locations around the world including the UK with a head office in London's Mayfair with additional outlets in South Africa, the UAE, other parts of Western Europe and most recently have launched with fourteen offices in the USA. The brand is renown for its high standards in estate agency practice and innovative and sophisticated lifestyle marketing - both online and offline. Fine & Country won numerous best in class estate agency awards last year and looks well-placed to exceed that success in 2010/2011.

Mike Bidwell.