Every ESTAS award is decided by verified customer reviews. This year, customers rated small, locally run businesses highest.
Smaller, independent businesses won all four of the top Grand Prix Gold awards for estate agents, letting agents, conveyancers and mortgage brokers at The ESTAS Awards 2026. None of the four is part of a national chain. The ceremony took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Friday 16 October.
Winners are not picked by a judging panel. Instead, every ESTAS award is based on verified reviews from customers at the end of their property transaction. The customers decide.
Much of the industry’s news this year has been about scale: larger groups buying up independent agencies, and AI tools promising to handle more of the home-moving process. But when buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants rated the service they got, the firms at the top were small, local businesses.
ESTAS founder Simon Brown said: “Anyone can open a door, send an email or chase a transaction. But the best people in this industry do much more than that. You calm nerves. You solve problems. You keep deals alive. You turn uncertainty into confidence.
“At a time when everyone is talking about AI, The ESTAS is here to celebrate something AI will never replace: empathy, judgement and trust. No judging panels. No polished submissions. No mystery shops. Just real people, giving real feedback, at the end of real transactions.”
Phil Spencer, the property TV presenter who has hosted The ESTAS for many years, said: “Property is local. Your reputation is built street by street, client by client. This event brings together people who usually spend their days looking after everyone else: clients, chains, deadlines, details. It gives them a moment to stop, look around and enjoy what they have achieved.”
The top award of the afternoon, Best Estate Agent Office in the UK, went to Houseclub Estate Agency in Lancaster. It’s the firm’s first Grand Prix Gold.
Drivers & Norris in Islington, north London, took the prize for Best Letting Agent Office for Landlords/Tenants. MJP Conveyancing in Norwich was named Best Conveyancer Office in the UK, and Affinity Financial Management in Carmarthen was named Best Mortgage Broker Office in the UK.
GoTo Group, the home moving platform, was named Supplier of the Year. The Property Centre won Best Regional Group (6 to 20 offices), and the Simpson Group won gold for Best Local Group (2 to 5 branches).
Hundreds more winners were named across the county, regional and national group categories, alongside The People Awards for individuals. Many firms at the ceremony had already won a Best in Postcode title earlier in the year.
More than 1,000 people from across the property industry attended the ceremony, which was supported by headline partners Reapit and PayProp.
The full list of 2026 winners is at https://www.theestas.com/winners/
This article was submitted by the ESTAS as part of an advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the advertiser and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
