International developer Qatari Diar, influential property entrepreneurs, Irvine Sellar, Chairman of the Sellar Property Group, and Mark Allan, Chief Executive of Unite Group, and highly successful property investor and philanthropist Everard Goodman were amongst those honoured at the annual Variety Club Property Awards (the PROPS) today.

People from all sectors of the property industry flocked to the Variety Club’s 18th Annual Property Awards which took place on Tuesday May 19th at The London Hilton in Park Lane.

The winners received awards in the following nine categories:

International Award:

Qatari Diar
(Last year’s winner: Dubai Properties)

Entrepreneur of the Year Award:

IrvineSellar, Chairman, Sellar Property Group
(Last year’s winner: Richard Caring, Chairman, Caprice Group)

Young Property Person of the Year Award:

Mark Allan, Chief Executive, Unite Group
(Lasy year’s winner: Daniel van Gelder, Joint senior partner, Examplar Properties)

Lifetime Achievement Award:

Everard Goodman
(Last year’s winner: Trevor Hemmings, Chairman of Hemway Limited)

Outstanding Development of the Year Award:

BAA for Heathrow Terminal 5
(Last year’s winner: St.Pancras International Station, London & Continental Railways)

Most Significant Contribution to London Award:

Westfield
(Last year’s winner: Anschutz Entertainment for The O2 Arena)

The Deal of the Year Award:

Telereal Trillium
(Last year’s winner: HSBC for the sale to Metrovacesa of the HSBC Tower at Canary Wharf)

Banker of the Year Award:

Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer
(Last year’s winner: Susan Geddes, Head of Real Estate Financing, Abbey Financial Markets

Most Promising Newcomer of the Year Award:

Sol and Eddie Zakay, Chairman & Managing Director of The Topland Group
(Last year’s winner: Malcolm King, Managing Director of Eversleigh Investment & Property Ltd)

Since 1992, the Variety Club’s "Props Awards" has raised in excess of £5 million. The money has been used to purchase over 1,500 wheelchairs and to complete a children's intensive care unit at St George's Hospital in Tooting, South London. Last year's event raised over £500,000 for sick, disabled and disadvantaged children and young people, including the provision of 120 electric wheelchairs.

The Co-Chairmen of the PROPS, Laurence Davis, Ronnie Nathan and Neil Sinclair said: “Variety Club’s Property Awards celebrate best practice in a highly competitive industry.  More importantly, this event brings the property sector together to raise vital funds for electric wheelchairs to help disabled children and young people to maintain their self esteem and to lead independent lives.”

The Co-Chairmen further comment: “Since 1988, the Variety Club Children's Charity has been supporting disabled children on the road to independence through its Easy Riders Wheelchairs for Kids' Programme. We are looking to actively increase the number of children we support. Our aim is to ensure children throughout the UK have access to the most appropriate equipment to give them as independent a life as possible.”

The Co-Chairmen continue: “The winners this year underline both the dramatic changes and the continuity in the property industry in light of the wider global economic turbulence. Last year, Dubai was the international property star, this year the focus has shifted to Qatar and highlight’s the Emirate’s ambitious projects in London.”

They add: “The Sellar Property Group and Unite Group impressed the judges panel by their ability to stay focused and on track despite the challenges facing the property market. The judges were also impressed by how Westfield has positioned itself as a destination address and is becoming a retail sister to the West End. For the second year running a transport project has won outstanding development of the year.”

They conclude: “Telereal were honoured for their counter cyclical acquisition of Trillium from Land Securities and highly successful property investor and philanthropist Everard Goodman was honoured with the Award of Lifetime Achievement. Mr Goodman listed a company very early in his career which was successfully sold. In 1984 he again listed a company called Tops Estates which at the time was a penny stock. It was sold for in excess of £5 per share in 2005 to Land Securities.”

Since the start of the inaugural event in 1992, the PROPS has raised in excess of £5 million for disabled and disadvantaged children and young people with the support of the Property Industry.

For further comment on this year’s awards please contact:

Neil Sinclair Tel: 07785 226666
Ronnie Nathan Tel: 07831 529966

For further press information or images, please contact:

Alex Lawrie or Kate Titchmarsh TTA Group Tel: 020 7886 0309
Email: ktitchmarsh@ttagroup.co.uk / alawrie@ttagroup.co.uk
Tel: 07813 850 341

For further information on the Variety Club please visit: www.varietyclub.org.uk