The Herald Property Awards for Scotland plays a significant role in showcasing Scotland’s achievements within the property sector. Made up of over 15 different categories, including three new for 2024, the awards honour the achievements of Scotland’s most innovative and successful companies and individuals working in the property sector.
For the third year, Landmark Scotland is delighted to be associated with these awards and are sponsoring the category of ‘Estate Agency of the Year’, recognising the very best Scottish agency firms. This event is invaluable in not only supporting the industry but providing a platform for us to showcase the Landmark Scotland brand. This is a challenging and unpredictable time for all in the property sector, and it is at events such as this that we can celebrate the innovation and achievements by so many across the property sector.
For the third year, Director of Landmark Scotland, Richard Hepburn, joins the judging panel for The Herald Property Awards Scotland 2024.
Richard joined Millar & Bryce in 2017 following 10 years at MD level in private equity-backed businesses in the research, testing and consulting space. Throughout his career he has held senior roles in both project management and business development working nationally and internationally in retail, distribution, and aviation services sectors.
In 2022 Richard’s role extended to lead the launch of Landmark Scotland, a new initiative established to address the unique needs of the Scottish property market’s transaction flow. With Landmark Scotland formed, sponsoring these awards was a great opportunity to gain visibility quickly and, because of the engagement with the Herald team there was the chance to contribute more through joining the multi-disciplinary judging panel.
Talking about why it is was important for Landmark Scotland to be part of this prestigious event, Richard says,
“With a growing presence in supporting Estate Agents in Scotland this gives us a great opportunity to be visible and seen as a driving force in providing the solutions that underpin a vibrant Scottish property sector”.
Unlike other property awards which assess desktop submissions, the judging process for these awards involves site visits and scoring from two judges attending each site with other judges’ experience spanning everything from architecture, social housing, project management and interior design.
Giving an inside view of the process as a judge Richard told us “The judging panel gets together in May to review all entry submissions received by the Herald team across the different categories. This allocation meeting breaks this total down into a unique list of properties for each judge to assess. The judging panel reconvenes in early August to review our scoring and notes from our site visits before arriving at a shortlist of finalists in each category and a winner.”
Expanding on the site visits, Richard continues,
“Each awards category has a scoring template relating to six or seven key elements we should consider in our assessment as well as a notes section where we record our own impressions and thoughts about the property, development or business (in the case of estate agency submissions for example). For me it’s about relating what’s been described in the written submission to what’s evident “on the ground” as words can often paint a brilliant story when the reality is less impressive. Likewise, some written submissions can be brief and less sophisticated, but the site visit reveals a real gem.’
The robustness of this process involves site visits by judges to every single property submitted in all categories regardless of location, a process that last year saw visits across the length and breadth of Scotland. Based in the East of Scotland, Richard says,
“It’s a great opportunity to get different perspectives on the health of the property sector in Scotland (and some of the regional variations), what’s driving that (first time buyers, downsizers etc) and the kinds of features potential buyers or renters are looking for in a property. Sustainability clearly is a growing theme both from a regulatory and consumer point of view so seeing how this is becoming embedded into property design and as an influencer in decision-making is encouraging”.
A celebration of the Scottish property industry’s achievements
The finalists for The Herald Property Awards for Scotland have been revealed and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony taking place on Thursday, September 26 at Doubletree by Hilton, Glasgow Central. Take the best seat in the house by securing your tickets here.
About Landmark Scotland
Landmark Scotland is supported by the established market legacy and local property knowledge of Millar & Bryce, and as part of Landmark Information Group, we have access to the biggest resource for land and property data sets, providers, and suppliers in the UK
Whether you are an estate agent, surveyor, or solicitor, Landmark Scotland provides the tools and support you need to navigate the challenges of the Scottish property market with ease. Landmark Scotland delivers a comprehensive range of region-specific data and workflow solutions to meet the evolving needs of the local property market with specific focus initially on residential estate agency, through our dedicated LandmarkAgent platform.
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