AN ESTATE agent laid foundations for further growth in the new year after sweeping the board at national awards ceremonies.

Williams Estates was a big winner at both the ESTAS and British Property Awards following a successful 12 months.

Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the North Wales company - which has sites in Holywell, Denbigh, Mold, Rhyl, Ruthin, Prestatyn and Rhuddlan - recruited six new bilingual staff in past months.

And the 25-strong team had even more to shout about having secured top industry accolades; they won six titles at the recent ESTAS, including their ninth Gold for Best Sales Agent in Wales, and another for Best Estate Agency Group in Wales.

Recently, Williams Estates received Silver for Wales at the British Property Awards, having earlier been unveiled as Gold winner for Denbighshire (Sales) and Flintshire (Lettings).

Director Jason Williams praised his team for their diligence and dedication to customers, a focus which played a major role in them emerging victorious at both ceremonies.

"The customer is at the heart of everything we do, so to have been recognised and rewarded for that is a huge honour," he said.

"These titles are judged on service, efficiency and there is a mystery shopping element to them over several months, so we have to be at the top of our game to compete with the hundreds of other agencies out there.

"Given the consistently high standards of our staff we have again featured highly and won the Wales-wide ESTAS Gold for the ninth time - and eighth in a row - so that is testament to their hard work and positive attitudes."

Despite the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, Jason said their early investment in technology and adaptability in the face of national uncertainty enabled employees at all seven sites to continue setting new standards.

"We have expanded to meet demand, and when Covid-19 took hold in the UK were early adopters of innovative methods including virtual video tours," said Jason, a former President of the North Wales, South Cheshire, and Merseyside branch of the National Association of Estate Agents.

"To this point we have produced more than 800 videos and they have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times so that is something we will look to continue with, though more in-person sales are now taking place.

"The market is in a strong position, with house prices increasing and so much interest, but for us the main target is further improvement in all aspects of the business - that's our top priority as we approach 2022."

This year's ESTAS were held in London, with results calculated from over 200,000 customer review ratings.

TV presenter and host Phil Spencer praised Williams Estates and all of the winners: "You've had to work incredibly hard, adapt your businesses and absorb considerable costs to follow the protocols and enable things to happen safely.

"Quite simply, delivering great service has never been more challenging, so the ESTAS Awards for 2021 are the most well deserved ever in their entire 18-year history."

For more information, visit www.williamsestates.com