30 and Thriving: Guild Members Celebrate Milestone 30th Anniversary

In June, The Guild of Property Professionals held its 30th Anniversary and Awards Ceremony where we proudly recognised the exceptional achievements of our Members and celebrated the past three decades of our network. 

Held at a prestigious venue in the centre of London, 8 Northumberland Avenue, Trafalgar Square, the day began with a sparkling drinks reception as our Members gathered, ready for a day to remember. With their festival-style wristbands secured, and a glass of fizz in hand, it was time for the celebrations to begin.

Entering the grand ballroom was quite the spectacle, with dressed tables before a stage all beneath the high, chandelier-laden ceiling, guests took their seats as Iain McKenzie, Chief Executive of The Guild opened proceedings. Looking back on the past 30 years, Iain delved into the changing property market and economy as well as reminiscing on the early days of The Guild. Being founded in 1993, the independent estate agency network has since grown to become the largest in the UK. 

Kris McLean, Managing Director of The Guild of Property Professionals, says: “We are incredibly proud to be celebrating our 30th anniversary as a network of independent estate agents. Over the past three decades, The Guild of Property Professionals has evolved from an idea to an award-winning supplier within the property sector and the largest independent estate agency network in the UK. This is an amazing achievement and we wanted to mark this occasion with a celebration event that we could share with our Members, by way of thanking them for their contribution. We have the privilege of having Members who have been with us for many years and have decades of experience. It is this experience and the calibre of agents within the membership that has been a large contributor in the growth and success of The Guild over the years.”

We were then introduced to headline event sponsor, rightmove, who announced a competition for our Members with the winners taking home bottles of champagne. Then came the sensational meal, where Members enjoyed two beautifully cooked courses with drinks sponsored by TPS Group and dinner by Mortgage Advice Bureau. With dinner concluded, our Live at The Guild entertainment could commence. Consisting of a former Live at The Apollo guest, a regular at The Comedy Store in London, and a writer for some of the best-loved comedy shows, we welcomed three comedians to the stage. Sikisa, a three-time Leicester Comedy Festival Nominee and BBC New Comedy Award Finalist, had us in fits of giggles with her skit on mortgages, while Robin Morgan, a Welsh stand-up comedian, tickled us with his impeccable timing and audience participation. Ian Moore closed the show with his gritty humour and successfully created an eruption of laughter in the room!

A tough act to follow, but we had just the thing… The Guild Awards, and this year everyone was in it to win it. With so many fantastic agents in our award-winning network, The Guild Awards is always a highlight of our annual event, the comradery and friendly-competitiveness was evident in the room as Kris and Iain announced the Bronze, Silver and Gold winners for each region, with the Social Media Award being picked up by Mackay Property, Andrew Coulson taking home our Referrals Champion Award and the Best Newcomer Award going to One2one Estate Agents. Congratulations to all of the award-winning Members, you can see the full list here.

Completing the day of festivities, Members made their way down to the dancefloor, newly awarded trophies in hand, where the interactive dessert experience began in the form of dragon-breath sorbet and a pick’n’mix buffet. With the tunes blasting and the selfie station proving a hit, we danced the night away with Head Office staff, Members from around the country, guests, supporters and sponsors.

Thank you again to everyone who attended our 30th birthday celebration, we hope to see you again for our 40th, 50th 60th and beyond! To find out how you could be at our next event, find out more about our plans and pricing, or see if your area is available for exclusive Membership here.

Thank you to our sponsors, rightmove, ESTAS, Mint Insurance, Rayner Personnel, iamproperty, TPS Group and Mortgage Advice Bureau.