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AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by The Media People
The Media People is a people-orientated hybrid media agency that puts audiences first.
We work across all media channels to create decisive campaigns based on a strong understanding of our clients’ brand and customers.
We believe in creativity and storytelling based on data and insight. In 2025 (and beyond), our vision is to be more than just a media agency. We go beyond the brief, prioritise our partnerships and do more than what’s expected.
We’re more than just people; we’re The Media People.
PRIVATE DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Influenced by Oracle
Influenced by Oracle is a specialist influencer marketing agency dedicated to the property, lifestyle, and home sectors. As the sister brand to The Oracle Group, we bridge the gap between brands and influencers, ensuring authentic, high-impact collaborations that drive real engagement.
Our team of property PR experts takes the guesswork out of influencer marketing, handling everything from matchmaking and campaign strategy to seamless execution. We connect brands with content creators who truly resonate with their target audience, ensuring every partnership aligns with brand values and marketing objectives.
For influencers, we provide a platform to collaborate with leading property and lifestyle brands, offering creative freedom while ensuring campaigns deliver measurable success.
With a focus on transparency, strategic storytelling and performance-driven results, Influenced by Oracle helps brands reach new audiences, build trust and achieve long-term impact through influencer-led content.
BEST LARGE DEVELOPMENT
Sponsored by LSL Land & New Homes
LSL Land & New Homes is a trusted partner to housebuilders, housing associations, and local authorities, delivering tailored sales and marketing solutions that help bring new homes to market especially for first-time buyers. As part of the LSL Property Services Group, we offer national reach through a network of over 300 estate agency branches, combined with deep local insight. Our specialist teams support every stage of the development lifecycle, from land acquisition and planning to sales progression and aftercare.
We offer expertise in Shared Ownership, Part Exchange, and affordable housing schemes, helping our partners meet demand and deliver successful, energy efficient developments. With a proven track record of connecting developers with motivated buyers, we’re proud to support initiatives that make homeownership more accessible.
At LSL Land & New Homes, we don’t just market homes, we build lasting partnerships that drive results.
BEST SMALL/MEDIUM DEVELOPMENT
Sponsored by Shared Direction Conveyancing
Shared Direction Conveyancing are Specialists in New Build and Shared Ownership conveyancing.
- Based on client feedback, we are in Review Solicitors top 2% of conveyancing firms nationwide
- In 2024/25 we completed nearly 3,500 new build shared ownership purchases
- We work with over 150 housing associations across the country
- Well known within the affordable housing sector, we are partners of the NSG, a member of the SO Exchange, and are supporters of the National Shared Ownership campaign and National Home Buying Week.
Our services to First Time Buyers are now available to buyers of all types of new build property, including shared ownership, outright sale and discounted purchase price properties. All clients benefit from:
- Unrivalled expertise
- Competitive and transparent pricing
- Nationwide coverage
- The highest standard of service
With every client feeling informed, confident, and supported from start to finish, we are the ideal firm to share your journey into home ownership.
BEST FIRST TIME BUYER APARTMENT
Sponsored by SOWN
Evolved from LRG in 2018, SOWN is a dedicated Shared Ownership brand. We provide a full sales and marketing service on behalf of Housing Providers, local councils and private sellers across the UK, for both new-build and re-sale Shared Ownership homes. Our specialist team focuses exclusively on Shared Ownership, which allows us to give the Shared Ownership market the attention it deserves. We’re currently operating out of hubs in Wokingham, Maidenhead, Manchester, London, Nottingham and Bishops Stortford.
Our formula for getting Shared Ownership right is setting up dedicated and highly experienced teams for every stage of the process. Our Pre-sales team handles all initial phone and web enquiries, which are then passed onto the Sales team and eventually our Move Managers (sales progressors). We can also provide buyers with access to surveyors, legal services and a panel of our specialist mortgage partners for support and up-to-the-minute advice.
BEST FIRST TIME BUYER FAMILY HOME
Sponsored by Penningtons Manches Cooper
Penningtons Manches Cooper is a leading UK and international law firm, renowned for its exceptional legal services to the housing sector.
Our extensive sales and homeownership team handles thousands of new build sales and after sales transactions annually, earning accolades from clients and independent legal directories as a top firm for housing law.
This team is part of our 60-strong full-service group, which addresses all housing legal needs. We serve a diverse client base, including housing associations, local authorities, housebuilders, developers, building contractors, consultants, and investors. Clients value our commitment to the highest standards of customer care, proactive market-specific insights, and seamless integration across all aspects of housing law. With a holistic approach and a strong team ethic, Penningtons Manches Cooper is your trusted partner for navigating the complexities of the housing sector.
BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Sponsored by Share to Buy
Share to Buy is the country’s leading affordable homeownership property portal and an independent, educational resource dedicated to first time buyers.
Our website – sharetobuy.com – has been supporting the affordable housing sector and budding buyers for over a decade. We work with housing associations, developers, local authorities, and sales agents nationwide, generating hundreds of thousands of leads each year across various affordable housing tenures including Shared Ownership, Older Persons Shared Ownership, First Homes, Deposit Unlock, Shared Equity, Discount Full Ownership, Discount Market Sale, London Living Rent, Intermediate Rent and Rent to Buy.
Share to Buy are also hosts of the London Home Show, the UK’s largest first time buyer event which has welcomed over 70,000 visitors since its inception in 2013.
BEST USE OF DIGITAL INNOVATION
Sponsored by Zoopla
Zoopla is one of the UK’s leading property websites, supporting over 14,500 estate agents and housebuilders in reaching serious movers and growing their businesses. With more than one billion property searches made on Zoopla each year, we play a key role in the home-moving journey and are a trusted destination for accurate, up-to-date house price information.
Our platform is designed to help property professionals win more instructions, increase brand visibility, and deliver results. Through data-driven insights, targeted marketing solutions and innovative tools, we provide agents with the resources they need to stay competitive and connect with motivated movers.
Over 4 million homeowners use Zoopla to track their property’s value and monitor local market trends—creating valuable opportunities for housebuilders to engage with potential clients and generate new leads.
BEST NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH
Sponsored by We Are Fred
As a full service brand consultancy, partnering at the highest level, we design and craft legacy creative that will endure for decades – making its mark and engaging generations.
You’ll find us challenging creativity in shaping the built environment and the real estate landscape, alongside our work in hospitality. Digital. Brand design.
Across social. Animation. CGI. Verbal identity. And more. All for a world of brands in constant motion.
It’s not just about the creative though. We know that it’s all about the people and the chemistry. This is something we feel very passionate about.
Because we’re more than strictly business, we’re human at our core. We value a personal approach because every project to us is exactly that, personal.
We Are Fred – Destination Brand.
BEST NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH
Sponsored by Metro Finance
Metro Finance – We just love Shared Ownership!
At Metro Finance, Shared Ownership isn’t just something we do – it’s what we love.
Partnering with over 130 Housing Associations nationwide, we support around 4,000 Shared Ownership buyers each month. From application to completion, we guide buyers through every step of their homeownership journey, while helping our Housing Association partners meet their regulatory obligations with ease.
To support the sector, we’ve invested heavily in digital innovation. Our intuitive customer and Housing Association “portals” keep everyone informed and on track. With tools that assess affordability for both initial purchase and “staircasing”, we’re simplifying the journey for all. We’ve also introduced sector-first technologies, including facial recognition ID checks and Open Banking integration – making it easier, faster, and more secure to do business with us.
Our dedicated team’s commitment to service excellence is reflected in our industry-leading Trustpilot and Google reviews.
But we don’t stop there.
We’ve championed the Shared Ownership sector by encouraging new lenders into the market and collaborating with existing ones to create better products for buyers. We’ve worked closely with Homes England to refine and improve affordability criteria, ensuring a fair balance between customer opportunity and Housing Association protection.
Can we do more? Always.
Because at Metro Finance, we just love Shared Ownership!
BEST PARTNERSHIP
Sponsored by Red Loft
Red Loft are market leaders in bespoke housing consultancy, specialising in;
We deliver end-to-end services throughout the development journey, from initial site finding throughout the development process to PC and beyond.
Our sales, lettings and marketing services combine commercial expertise with excellence in customer journey, whether for shared ownership or market sale, new build sales and lettings, or in delivering leaseholder services in resales and staircasing on behalf of our client landlords.
We also expert market research and feasibility assessments for new sites, and interim staff resources.
Working extensively throughout London and the South East we have an impressive list of clients including Registered Providers, Local Authorities, Housing Charities and private developers.
Delivering brilliant projects takes real experience, vision, and collaboration.
BEST LAW FIRM FOR CONVEYANCING
Sponsored by Buchanan Dean Design
Buchanan Dean Design, is a full service design agency, which has been working within the social housing sector since our inception over 27 years ago! In that time, we have gleaned an enormous amount of information about this sector of the housing market, both in terms of what works in sales and marketing, but also anecdotally from some of the legends in the industry. We are proud to have stood the test of time.
We work across all disciplines and media and have a diverse client base in this sector, from small, niche organisations to some of the largest in the country. We take great pride in treating all our clients with the same care and respect and believe one of our key attributes is that we are discerning listeners. This translates through the brief and into our creative solutions.
We are thrilled to support First Time Buyer magazine, through sponsoring the Best Law Firm for Conveyancing Award and wish all involved every success in their worthwhile quest of helping hard working people on to the first step of the housing ladder.
BEST OFF-PLAN DEVELOPMENT
Sponsored by Sharratts
Sharratts is a boutique firm of senior housing solicitors providing a professional, affordable service specifically for affordable housing providers and their partners. Providing commercial and practical advice in a helpful and approachable manner, we are committed to excellence, are recognised affordable housing specialists and are acknowledged within the sector as experts in the field.
We offer advice in relation to development site acquisitions (including joint ventures), plot sales of all tenures (together with shared ownership resales and staircasing) and have a specialist asset management team which can offer advice on all other types of property transaction.
BEST SUPPLIER TO THE FTB MARKET
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Sponsored by Cast
Cast is a group of companies operating within the housing sector. We provide marketing intelligence and strategic campaign support, enabling the planning, build and sale of new homes. This is facilitated across three core brands:
Cast Can, a creative & strategic marketing agency providing multi-channel marketing ideas, content and campaigns to the housing sector.
The NSG, a national network providing research and tools enabling its members to navigate and prosper within the affordable housing sector.
H&DN, a panel and network of senior experts advising local councils on all aspects of housing development and delivery.
BEST SHOW HOME
Sponsored by Spicerhaart Group
Spicerhaart Group is the largest independent, principal owned estate agency group in the UK.
We provide Land & New Homes expertise for a number of brands from strategically situated regional offices. Offering dedicated advice, industry MI and guidance to Developers, House Builders, Housing Associations, Registered Providers, Receivers and Banks.
Our multi-award winning Land & New Homes team have the marketing back up of over 175 estate agency offices and partnerships and some 2,000 staff situated in prominent, often high street, locations throughout England and Wales.
Our aim is to provide clients with accurate, up to the minute advice, backed up by extensive and relevant local market intelligence, as well as an unrivalled marketing proposition through the UK’s largest independent provider of property services.
Our dedicated Land team can also provide you with the raw material for your next project, be that a total new build development, conversion or refurbishment.
LEGACY AWARD
Sponsored by Space & Time
Space & Time, established in 2000, is an independent growth marketing agency that optimises the entire customer experience.
Commerciality is intrinsic to its identity. For over two decades the agency has led the way in leveraging media and technology to propel growth, honing its expertise across diverse sectors for clients including Taylor Wimpey PLC, Caffe Nero, O2 Retail, Save the Children, and Wolf 1834.
Woven into the fabric of its growth marketing approach is a wealth of experience, with 135 staff across offices in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Surrey and Bournemouth. Empowered by technology, data, and innovation, Space & Time consistently delivers the right outcomes in the face of any challenge.
Active members of the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA), the agency’s work has received industry recognition, including accolades at the UK Search awards, and a Grand Prix at The Drum Recommends.
EDITOR'S AWARD FOR SERVICES TO THE INDUSTRY
Sponsored by Faust PR
Faust PR are a creative, boutique communications agency specialising in the residential property sector. Renowned for their hands-on and personable approach, the team’s dynamic and proactive style ensures that every campaign, project and proposal is packed full of fresh ideas and expertise. Clients range from some of the UK’s largest housing associations to build-to-rent providers, to local estate agents, meaning they have expertise in building brand awareness on every level, specifically within the property sphere.
Highly experienced in delivering media relations and daily press office functions as well as PR stunts, events, social media and influencer marketing, through to case studies, video content and stakeholder liaison, Faust offer a 360° approach to your PR needs. Notable past works have included everything from award-winning art exhibitions to historic building activations, stakeholder engagements and successful sales launches.
DRINKS SPONSOR
Sponsored by Edward Thomas Interiors
Edward Thomas Interiors is an award-winning interior designer specialising in new homes. Established in 2015, the firm works across the UK as the trusted design partner of family-run developers, HBF 5* housebuilders, housing associations and retirement living providers.
Its 40 strong team designs and installs bespoke showhomes and apartments, sales & marketing centres, and retirement living complexes, all to support the sales process. Additional services include refurbishments and refreshes, “sold as seen” apartments, showhome photography, and furniture or curtain and light packages for Build to Rent developments, stock plots or as buyer incentives.
With an ethos centred around customer service and collaboration, Edward Thomas Interiors seeks to show how professional interior design adds value, targets a specific demographic or helps tackle challenging market conditions. The firm has a thriving reputation for delivering distinctive, characterful and inspirational schemes and are regularly told this combination of creativity and commerciality sets them apart.
SHORTLIST LAUNCH DRINKS SPONSOR
Sponsored by Owen Paulo Legal
Owen Paulo Legal are a niche firm that are dedicated to Resale Shared Ownership and Staircasing conveyancing, we are extremely proud to be the only firm in the country solely specialising in these types of transactions.
We are recommended by nearly 100 Housing Associations, Financial Advisors, Selling Agents & Councils combined, in part because we have been involved in Shared Ownership for over 2 decades. We pride ourselves on our ability to work with other parties involved in your transaction, ensuring that you complete as smoothly and quickly as possible.
So, if you are looking to buy, sell or increase your current share, look no further than Owen Paulo Legal. We have the knowledge and experience to take you through one of the most important moments of your life, and we guarantee that we will treat that way.
Contact 0808 196 7020, enquiries@owenpaulo.co.uk or visit our website for a quotation or further information.