PROPTECH-X ‘Proptech & Property News’: Gove under pressure | The Guild awards

Andrew Stanton’s daily proptech & property news in association with Estate Agent Networking

Gove under pressure to provide more data around defective properties

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, had hoped that the property developers would come forward with financial strategies to offset the problems around cladding, faulty construction and fire safety. 

Now the construction industry has put the ball back in the government’s court, upping the ante by asking the government to provide more detailed information regarding the true extent and cost of any remedial work.

At present, the figure circulating to deal with problems on buildings above 11 metres in height is in excess of £4 billion, but there seems to be little detail as to how this figure has been calculated. 

There have also been calls for all stakeholders to pay towards the costs of making properties fit for purpose, with Clive Betts, who chairs the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee saying: “The government should be looking beyond developers and manufacturers to contribute to the costs of fixing the building safety crisis.”

Betts continued: “We recommend the government identify all relevant parties who played a role in this crisis, such as product suppliers, installers, contractors and subcontractors, and legally require them to pay towards fixing individual faults and ensure that they also contribute to collective funding for building safety remediation.”

It’s not just outside pressure, Gove is being put under the spotlight internally, too. On the March 11th a government committee published the DLUHC Building Safety: Remediation and Funding report, which also questioned the fact that there seemed to be scant detail on the extent of the problem.

“It is completely unacceptable that, nearly five years after the Grenfell tragedy, the Government still does not seem to know how many buildings have unsafe cladding or other historic building safety defects,” stated the report. 

“We commend the Secretary of State for finally seeking information from developers and manufacturers, and commend industry for now working at pace to provide this information. The Government must publish, within two months, all available data on the number of buildings of all heights with historic building safety defects—cladding and non-cladding—including data it has received from developers and manufacturers.”

Interestingly, in the same government report the following observation was made: “Taylor Wimpey pointed out that before 10 January, developers were the only sector that had been required to contribute to public funds for building safety. Developers have also voluntarily funded remediation works to the tune of £1 billion.”

Again, this makes the point that prior to Gove’s big idea to get new home developers to cover the deficit, there were already manoeuvres to help with the situation. 

Another complication for Gove on the horizon is the reality that many developers who have built defective properties are actually based outside the UK, so even if compensation, fines or some other form of financial clawback is put in place, many buildings may not be covered.




Excellent turn out for The Guild of Property Professionals awards

The Guild of Property Professionals recently held its first in-person conference and awards ceremony since the pandemic. Over 400 people attended the conference, which was held at the QEII Centre in Westminster, London. 

Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, said: “It was great to be back together again and reflect on the past twelve months, looking at what has happened within the sector during 2021 and what we expect to happen moving forward into 2022. Throughout the day, we had an amazing line-up of industry professionals, speaking about a wide variety of topics such as the digitalisation of the sector and using digital marketing to elevate your business, winning instructions the green way and the trends and innovations we are seeing within the sales and lettings sectors. 

Source: The Guild of Property Professionals

“We also had the privilege of listening to talks from our two keynote speakers, Katie King, published Author and Management Consultant, renowned for digital transformation and AI, and professional adventurer and motivational speaker, Debra Searle MVO, MBE, who single-handedly rowed across the Atlantic.”  

He adds that the conference and awards ceremony was also an opportunity for The Guild to recognise the hard work of its Members and what they have achieved over the course of last year. 

“Many within the network have excelled and provided exceptional customer service while guiding buyers and sellers through their home moving journey. This year 86 Bronze, Silver, Gold and Special Awards were presented to Guild Members in honour of the outstanding results they achieved during 2021.

“The awards, which are sponsored by The Telegraph, were presented to Members by Presenter, Broadcaster and Former Sky Sports News Anchor, Kirsty Gallacher. As an organisation we are proud of our Members and are delighted to be able to celebrate their success.

“The Guild Awards are a way for us to acknowledge agent who have gone above and beyond for their clients and the industry in 2021. Congratulations to all agents and offices that received awards this year, and all the best for 2022.” 


SALES

North East

Gold – Roseberry Newhouse

Silver – Mansons Property Consultants

Bronze – George F. White

Northern Ireland

Gold – John Minnis Estate Agents

Silver – CPS

Bronze – Kingham Property Services

North West

Gold – Harper Williams Estate Agents

Silver – David Davies Estate Agents Ltd

Bronze – Adams Estate Agents

Yorkshire & Humber

Gold – Emsleys Estate Agents

Silver – Harris Shields Collection

Bronze – Bartons

West Midlands

Gold – C Residential

Silver – Ferndown Estates

East Midlands

Gold – Bentons

Silver – Mundys

Bronze – Richard Watkins

East of England

Gold – Taylor Milburn

Silver – Parson Estate Agents

Silver – Mackay Property Agents

Bronze – Kingsleigh Residential 

Wales

Gold – Archer & Co.

Silver – Morris Marshall & Poole Estate Agents

Bronze – Taylor & Co

South West

Gold – Marchand Petit

Silver – Diamond Estate Agents

Silver – Webbers Estate Agents

Bronze – DOMVS

London

Gold – Drivers & Norris

Silver – Conran

Silver – Benjamin Stevens Estate Agents

Bronze – Property Divas

South East

Gold – Wood & Pilcher

Silver – Seymours Estate Agents

Bronze – M&M Estate & Lettings Agent

Bronze – Foundation Estate Agent

South Central

Gold – Rochills Estate Agents

Silver – Belgarum Estate Agents

Bronze – ME Estate Agents

Bronze – Wye Residential

LETTINGS

North East

Gold – Kimmitt Lettings

Silver – Mansons Property Consultants 

Bronze – Roseberry Newhouse

Northern Ireland

Gold – Homes Independent

Silver – John Minnis Estate Agents

Bronze – Daniel Henry Estate Agents

North West

Gold – David Davies Estate Agents

Silver – Adams Estate Agents

Yorkshire & Humber

Gold – Emsleys Estate Agents

Silver – Harris Shields Collection

Bronze – Moss Properties

West Midlands

Gold – Ferndown Estates

Bronze – C Residential

East Midlands

Gold – Mundys

Silver – Bentons Estate Agents

Bronze – Sally Botham

East of England

Gold – Platinum Properties

Silver – Mackay Property Agents

Bronze – Woodcock Holmes

Bronze – McCartney Property Services

Wales

Gold – Peter Morgan

Silver – Williams & Goodwin The Property People

Silver – Morris Marshall & Poole Estate Agents

Bronze – Kelvin Francis Estate Agents

South West

Gold – Webbers Estate Agents

Silver – Newquay Property Centre

Bronze – McFarlane Sales & Lettings

London

Gold – Drivers & Norris

Silver – Benjamin Stevens

Bronze – Conran 

Bronze – Property Divas

South East

Gold – Sawyer & Co.

Silver – John Bray Estate Agents

Bronze – Page & Wells

South Central

Gold – Rochills Estate Agent

Silver – Belgarum Estate Agents

Bronze – Eastons Estate Agents

Bronze – Bernards Estate Agents

OVERALL WINNERS 

Sales:

Overall Guild Agent of the year SALES: C Residential

Lettings:

Overall Guild Agent of the year LETTINGS: Webbers

SPECIAL AWARDS 

Lifetime Achievement Award: Andrew Coulson Property Sale & Lettings

Supportive Guild Member: Conran

Best Newcomers: Alexander May and Hilton King & Locke 

Community Champion: Thomas Morris

Brand Ambassador Award: Millbanks

Referrals Champion: Kent Estate Agents


Andrew Stanton is the founder and CEO of Proptech-PR, a consultancy for Founders of Proptechs looking to grow and exit, using his influence from decades of industry experience. Separately he is a consultant to some of the biggest names in global real estate, advising on sales and acquisitions, market positioning, and operations. He is also the founder and editor of Proptech-X Proptech & Property News, where his insights, connections and detailed analysis and commentary on proptech and real estate are second to none.

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