An Introduction
The early years
The inaugural International Property Awards were presented in 1995 covering 10 different categories. Award winners gave favourable reports and feedback noting a number of benefits ranging from increased profile, positive customer response, increased press coverage by local and national press and boosting staff morale.
For the next year’s Awards, we held our first gala event at the Park Lane Hotel in London with most of the winners making the journey to London to collect their awards. The pre-dinner reception provided winners with a chance to network with other companies and many new business relationships developed from that first gathering.
In 1998 we held the gala at the House of Commons - a very popular choice of venue amongst the winners. As the reputation of the awards grew, attracting more publicity and entrants from a wider range of countries, we moved the gala events to the Royal Lancaster Hotel then the Marriott Grosvenor Square.
By this time the International Property Awards had established themselves as the premier programme recognising excellence in its field and the gala dinners had become an essential part of the property industry’s calendar.
Growth
In 2005 we launched the Daily Mail UK Property Awards which have quickly gained ground as the most prestigious honour available to UK property companies.
And in 2006 we launched the CNBC Arabian Property Awards with the glittering gala event held at the Royal Mirage Palace Ballroom in Dubai. Just 12 months later we needed an even bigger venue and selected the Jumeirah Madinat Ballroom which could accommodate up to 1400 guests.
Over the years the awards have seen steady growth and the support team has grown from just two people to a team of 12. We have also seen an incredible growth in entries from across the globe. In 2007 entries were received from 56 different countries.
The awards are now established as the biggest in the world. Winners from each country are re-judged and up to five are nominated within each category for the chance of being chosen as the Best in the World.
In 2007 we held the grand final gala event at the internationally famous Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Winning companies were also showcased at the world's largest real estate professionals event organised by two of our sponsors – NAR and SIMA. 30,000 property professionals attended this in November 2007.
In 2008 we are planning Gala events in Singapore, Dubai, Madrid, London and New York.
We are honoured to have a panel of many well-respected experts from a range of complementary backgrounds who volunteer their time to assist in the selection and judging process. Many represent well-established professional bodies from different countries.
Sponsors
Over the years leading branded companies have sponsored the awards as a way of raising their profiles and making new business contacts amongst the award winners and their clients. Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, and Bentley Motors have been prominent headline sponsors. Aston Martin supported the Arabian Property Awards in 2006 and Jack Barclay, the world's largest Bentley dealership, sponsored the UK Property Awards in 2007.
More recently, major international media partners have come forward in support of the excellence and endeavours of the participating companies. Supporters include the Daily Mail, CNBC Arabiya, the New York Times and the Sydney Morning Herald.
(For an up to date list of sponsors and supporters please click here)
We continue to encourage firms who set themselves high standards in service and practice to enter and participate and we look forward to welcoming those who win and achieve recognition for their abilities in this extremely competitive profession.
