Birmingham’s real estate professionals have raised a record £77,400 for local children’s charities at an annual spoof awards event.
Almost 400 of Birmingham’s commercial property community gathered to raise money for Property for Kids, and celebrate 21 years of the BRENDAs (Birmingham Real Estate Novel Development Awards). Funds generated will be donated to several charities including Birmingham & Solihull Women’s Aid’s ‘Safe Place to Climb’ project, to support the renovation of a dilapidated playground at the Lily Arbour refuge.
In celebration of the significant anniversary, this year’s event was themed ‘BRENDA This is your life,’ with winners taking away gnomes as prizes for a series of tongue-in-cheek awards. Since the event began, 190 gnomes have been distributed, and more than £500K has been raised for many local charities and initiatives.
Property for Kids chairman and managing director of Barques, Jilly Cosgrove said: “We had an amazing day at the 21st BRENDAs event which has been a huge part of my working life. Looking back over the years and seeing the number of people who’ve been involved is truly astonishing, not to mention all the sponsors we have had, the funds raised and the children’s charities supported. It just goes to show what a fantastic industry we work in and how supportive people are of others! Remarkable.”
The BRENDAs 2024 was hosted by Jilly Cosgrove of Barques, and Ed Gamble of ACRE Capital Real Estate, and sponsored by Estilo. Individual awards were sponsored by Ansty Horne, Benniman, DWF Law, ESC, Estilo Interiors, Nolan Associates, Warmflame Developments, Wates Construction, and Willmott Dixon.
Some of this year’s awards were given as ‘thank yous’ to Emma Cogrove of Barques, James Tickle of ESC ,Michelle Ward and Dan Gallagher of Stoford, Lucy Moore of Estilo Interiors, and Simon Marks of Arcadis, for their historic involvement. Jilly Cosgrove was awarded the lifetime achievement award for her long-term role with event organisation.