If there has ever been a time to hold on to something positive and celebrate greatness, best practice and just doing something good, it is now.
And that’s why we are so happy to announce the winners of this year’s very special EG Awards. Congratulations to everyone shortlisted and an extra special congratulations to the winners.
Judging and hosting this year’s awards has been entirely different to the vision we had at the very start of 2020, but in the way that only real estate can, we transformed, we came together and we worked hard to make sure that the show could still go on.
Congratulations to everyone.
Click here to rewatch the virtual awards ceremony >>
Alternatives Innovator Award
Winner: Fortwell Capital
Partner: Radius Data Exchange
Judges were impressed with Fortwell Capital ‘s deep understanding of its sector and said: “This company comes across as innovative, proven, and stand out from the pack.”
Fortwell Capital chief executive Dan Smith said: “We have worked really hard over the last 12 months in the care home space to provide developers much-needed funding. It is a space we are really proud to be part of. We recognise the lack of high-quality care homes available in the UK and we are delighted to be able to meet the demand.”
BTR Innovator Award
Winner: Get Living
Partner: Trowers & Hamlins
“Dynamic”, “innovative” and “refreshing” were just a few key words the judges used to describe Get Living. They were impressed with the company’s focus on fee transparency and its genuine attempt to embrace tech.
Rick de Blaby, chief executive at Get Living, said: “The credit goes to 120 people at Get Living at East Village and Elephant and up in Manchester. They innovate everyday, so it is lovely to have recognition for that. When we were in lockdown our team put in over 2,000 calls to residents. Not all innovations have to be high-tech, it’s just the simple things sometimes, reaching out and connecting with people, that makes a difference.”
Property Management Innovator Award
Winner: Knight Frank
Partner: Octopus Real Estate
Judges said that Knight Frank showed a breadth of strong initiatives across multiple sectors combined with impressive performance statistics.
Knight Frank senior partner and group chairman Alistair Elliott said: “Being recognised for the Property Management Innovator Award is an enormous boost to our team and we are grateful to our clients for their support. The EG did a brilliant job in the absence of our normal party and hopefully we can all get together to celebrate again next year.”
Industrial & Logistics Innovator Award
Winner: Mileway
Partner: Shoosmiths
“What an impressive growth story,” said one judge.
“This seems like a very welcome and disruptive business model which ought to help a great many companies fulfil their space requirements easier than they might otherwise have done,” said another.
Thomas ten Bokum, head of investment and portfolio management at Mileway, said: “We are extremely pleased to have won this in our first year. We genuinely believe we are building something very unique and exciting at Mileway, so we are very proud to have won the award. We will continue to focus on building a high-performing team and establishing Mileway as Europe’s prime last-mile logistics company, with a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality and well-located assets, to better connect with the customers in our business, and the customers they serve.”
Global Adviser Award
Winner: Savills
Partner: 10 Design
Impressive results with a single focus on performance and connecting teams is what made Savills stand out for judges.
Mark Ridley, group chief executive of Savills, said: “We are delighted to win the Global Adviser Award and to receive such important industry recognition. We have a connected platform that puts clients first, we have won significant market share around the world and are dedicated to servicing our clients to the highest level across the group.”
UK Adviser Award
Winner: JLL
Partner: DWF
JLL’s demonstration of market share and delivering key deals secured it the title as the UK market leader. Judges noted its clear commitment to sustainability, diversity and the firm’s embrace of technology.
Chris Ireland, UK chief executive at JLL, said: “This award represents the hard work of all of those who work across our business, particularly amidst the backdrop of a global pandemic. In addition to highlighting the commitment of our people to deliver the best results for our clients it also recognises the steps we have taken to position sustainability, diversity and technology at the centre of our business and deliver real change for the industry.”
Global Company Award
Winner: AEW
Partner: Knight Frank
Judges said AEW Global was “truly a global operator of significant size” and awarded for its strong returns to it investors and a clear focus on sustainability.
UK Company Award
Winner: SEGRO
Partner: Savills
SEGRO was an absolute stand-out for the panel for its clear sustainability strategy, great performance and overall long-term thinking. “They’ve had an exceptional year and are the obvious winner,” said the judges.
David Sleath, chief executive of SEGRO, said: “Winning the UK Company of the Year Award is a great finale for SEGRO’s centenary year, and testament to all the hard work by our team in 2019 and 2020. Congratulations also to Sam and the team at EG for hosting a great [digital] party.”
EG Tech Award
Winner: Native Finance
Partner: Cluttons
Judges said Native Finance was a real estate tech company characterised by its smart and increasingly critical use of data and awarded it for “solving a genuine problem”.
Native Finance co-founder Prasanna Kannan said: “It’s an amazing feeling and a real surprise, so thanks to the judges for choosing us. It has been a strange and tough year, of course, but because we are a tech business we have dealt with it pretty well. In some respects it has made what we do even more feasible. We are the first tech platform for real estate finance. There are many things that can’t be done through technology in that space, but what this pandemic has shown is what the future might look like. We are realistic in terms of what can be achieved, but if there is any positive to all this it is the fact that people can now see what value tech platforms can really have in things such as financing and traditional real estate sectors.”
Future of Real Estate
Winner: TOWN
Partner: Aldermore
“TOWN ticks a lot of the boxes of what the future and innovation should look like,” said the judges, commending it for putting strong collaboration, partnerships and improved environmental outcomes at the heart of the business.
“We’re bowled over to have won this award,” said TOWN, “especially up against some incredible businesses.”
TOWN founding director Neil Murphy said: “We’re surprised and delighted. For a company of our size to win such a prestigious award is really great. What we think is really timely is recognising the importance of places and homes that are designed in partnership with residents and the communities that they will be in. It feels timely and for us coming from a design-led residential side to pick up an award against some really chunky commercial entities is great.”
Best Workspace Award
Winner: Bruntwood SciTech
Partner: Real Estate Balance
It was Bruntwood SciTech’s “superbly connected” workspaces, modern facilities and wellbeing considerations that pushed it to the top of the shortlist for judges. Great workspace and a strong commercial performance and an impressive roster of tenants.
“It’s a proud moment,” said Bruntwood SciTech commercial director Brad Topps. “It has been such a strange six months for everybody and it’s just nice for workspace to be recognised for the importance that we know it has currently and is going to have going forward for businesses. The vision and the work that we have been doing for several years – there are too many people to thank, but ultimately we are delighted that we have created something for businesses and the digital tech community and it’s an inspiring workspace and it really will help Manchester be at the forefront of innovation.”
Legal Team Award
Winner: CMS
Partner: Crestbridge
A top-rank law firm showcasing a strong year with impressive deals wasn’t all that made judges crown CMS Legal Team of the Year. It also showed itself to be inclusive, forward-thinking and with proven effective leaders, said the panel.
Tanya Francis, partner at CMS, said: “As the largest real estate team across the UK and Europe, real estate is at the heart of what we do. We strive to be the best, have the best clients and work on the best deals. This award really is just a recognition of all the hard work the team put in order to achieve that.”
Employer Award
Winner: Hollis
Partner: RSM
The judges thought that the energy in the submission from Hollis was inspiring. From mentoring and supporting women in business to volunteering and commitment to mental health training, this company, they said, is showing itself to be a genuinely engaging employer.
Melanie Olrik, head of HR at Hollis, said: “We have always been building a diverse workforce but at the same time acknowledge that the industry itself if not very diverse and there is a lot more we can do about that than we have been. Going forward that’s what we’re putting a big focus on but without taking away from the path that we’re on with our other initiatives. If you build the culture for an open environment people start to come forward. “
Regional Deal Award
Winner: Urban Splash, Sekisui House and Homes England
Partner: LCR
Urban Splash was a real stand-out from the competition for our judges for a deal that has “breakthrough potential” across a range of issues that really matter for the UK housebuilding sector.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have this deal recognised as one of the most significant in the MMC sector,” said Urban Splash. “It’s great to win this one,” said founder Tom Bloxham.
London Deal Award
Winner: Delancey for the acquisition of Earls Court
Partner: Hollis
Delancey’s £425m acquisition of Capital & Counties’ stake in the Earls Court development project in west London was labelled huge for the capital, by our judges. They said the entry stood out especially for the variety and number of stakeholders involved and the clearly complex bid process.
“This is a transformational deal, and quite clearly the deal of the year,” said the panel.
Jamie Ritblat, founder and chief executive of Delancey, said: “We’re delighted, we’re really thrilled. I think deals of this complexity, scale, are rare. People underestimate often the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to get there. We not only had to deal with a vendor but with local authorities and the mayor’s office. There was a huge collective in getting everybody on the same side to support the acquisition and we’re, obviously, enormously grateful to APG our partners on the project.”
Social Impact Award
Winner: Patron Capital
Partner: Better Building Partnership
Patron Capital was the stand-out winner for judges. It is tackling a huge issue and its vision for social impact far exceeds what is being done in the industry. “To be focused on such an important requirement and issue is really admirable,” said our panel.
Keith Breslauer, founder of Patron Capital, said: “Along with being a huge success for Patron Capital, this award is a very meaningful one for me. I set up Patron Capital with the desire to be the best opportunistic manager in real estate while at the same time making every effort to change the world and the team works incredibly hard to achieve this through our initiatives, which include various charities, as well as our latest Women in Safe Homes (WISH) Fund. I’m immensely proud of everyone at Patron Capital for always going above and beyond, and this award highlights the commitment we make to creating a positive difference to society.”
Sustainability Award
Winner: Nuveen Real Estate
Partner: Max Fordham
“It’s good to see a company focusing on delivering on their targets today, not simply setting future goals” said our judges of Nuveen Real Estate’s approach to sustainability. They awarded the firm due to its real commitment to addressing sustainability across a very diverse global portfolio of assets.
Rising Star Award
Winner: James Rosenfeld, principal, Blackstone
Partner: TFT
Judges were impressed by how much Rosenfeld has achieved so early on in his career. They saw Rosenfeld as someone who has clearly forged ahead to make a name for themselves in a competitive sector.
Superhero Award (company or team)
Winner: Edmonton Green Shopping Centre Management Team/Ashdown Phillips
Partner: New London Architecture
The team at Edmonton Green shopping centre have shown the true spirit of being a superhero, said out judges. They went above and beyond the call of duty, reaching out to the local community to deliver real assistance in a time of crisis. “This company has supported a significant number of people at an extremely difficult time in an already underprivileged area,” said our judges.
“We are extremely proud of the whole team for their work supporting the local community throughout the Covid-19 crisis,” said the team at Ashdown Phillips.
Superhero Award (individual)
Winner: Robert Adams, Colliers International
Charity partner: Black Minds Matter
While judging superheroic behaviour was one of the most difficult of categories this year, due to the unbelievable spirit and philanthropic acts carried out by individuals in the sector, judges were moved by Adams’ actions. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Adams made personal sacrifices to help others feel safe and cared for. Not only did he volunteer at his local retirement village during his furlough, but he also used his skills from his day job to help build successes for his local businesses. He continues to provide support today. A superhero even Stan Lee would be proud of.
