Belvoir Celebrates 20 Years With Mammoth Charity Fundraiser

It is 20 years since the very first Belvoir franchise was launched, and the award-winning property management company plans to celebrate with a charity fundraiser that will mark each and every one of those years.

"To achieve 20 successful years in business is a massive achievement, and we have been looking at various ideas that would help us to mark the occasion in a meaningful way," says Dorian Gonsalves, Belvoir's Director of Commercial and Franchising.

"We decided that throughout the month of October, we would encourage every office in the Belvoir network to raise or donate a minimum of £20 for the charity of their choice. The figure of £20 is significant because it will represent one pound for every year that Belvoir has been in business and with over 190 offices in the network, this has the potential to raise a considerable sum of money for local and national good causes. The team at Central Office is also planning a special fundraiser, more details of which will be released in due course!"

Belvoir was originally founded in 1994 by husband and wife team, Mike and Stephanie Goddard, with the first franchise being opened by Andy Campbell in Moray in 1995. The Moray office is still going strong, and the network has developed at a phenomenal rate. In 2012 Belvoir became the first letting agency franchise to launch on the London Stock Exchange.

Further business growth occurred in 2014 when a number of Belvoir offices branched out into residential property sales and earlier this year the company bought Newton Fallowell, one of the largest estate agents in the East Midlands, adding a further 31 offices to the network.

"This has been a very exciting year for Belvoir, and it is great for our offices be able to take part in our 20/20 celebratory fundraiser to give something back to the communities they serve," says Dorian. "We have already heard of some exciting plans from across the network - for example, Belvoir Colchester is planning a charity sky dive, Belvoir Liverpool West Derby is running a muddy 10K and many other offices are planning cake bakes, quiz nights and sponsored events.

"Belvoir has long been a supporter of local and national charities and some offices have raised thousands of pounds. Last week the team at Belvoir Northwich held its fifth annual charity golf day, raising £4,300 in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, bringing the total they have raised for this charity in the past five years to over £15,000. Each year at our annual awards we celebrate the achievements of our charity champions and no doubt next year's ceremony will be extra-special, as so many offices are participating in fundraisers."

• Belvoir now have 190+ offices nationwide. To find your nearest Belvoir office, visit their website at www.belvoir.co.uk

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NOTES TO EDITORS

• Belvoir was founded in February 1995 by Mike and Stephanie Goddard. Its Central Office is in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

• Mike was chairman of the bfa for three consecutive years and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Belvoir. Dorian Gonsalves is Director of Commercial and Franchising. Dorian sits on the Board of The Property Ombudsman.

• Belvoir is recognised as one of the largest specialist lettings agency franchises in the UK, with 160+ offices nationwide and aims to have 200 franchises in the next three years.

• Belvoir was officially awarded the Best Lettings Agency Franchise – Gold Award at the 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010 Lettings Agency of the Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times & The Times. Belvoir also won the Silver Award in 2011.

• Belvoir was voted Best Large Lettings Chain at the Estate & Letting Agent Awards (ESTAs) 2013, which was hosted by Phil Spencer, and won Silver in 2014. Belvoir has won Brand Builder of the Year at the bfa Franchisor of the Year Awards 2011 and Best Marketing Campaign of the Year at the Franchise Marketing Association (FMA) Awards 2011.

• Belvoir is a founder member of the SAFEagent Kitemark scheme, which is fully supported by NALS. SAFEagent promotes client money protection (CMP) and provides consumers with a clear message on those agents they should do business with.

• Belvoir successfully listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 21st February, 2012.

For further information or to arrange an interview with Dorian Gonsalves please contact Andrea McHugh, Headlines Journalism, tel: 01476 567438/07940 930 331

email: andrea@headlinesjournalism.co.uk