The WhatHouse? Awards are recognised as the Oscars of the housebuilding industry, but what does this mean for the winners, how do rewards ripple down through a winners’ supply chain and how do they benefit the companies that reach the gold standard?
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What does winning Housebuilder of the Year and Best Medium Housebuilder mean to City & Country?
To win both prestigious WhatHouse? Awards Housebuilder of the Year and Best Medium Housebuilder is a testament to our own values as a developer. Creating high quality homes across the country is the heart and soul of our business, but it takes every single one of our team, from the site and sales teams to our outstanding customer care team, to those in the head office, to truly deliver on this. We all take immense pride in the work we do, and to have this recognised is so important to us.
How important is it in the wider context of not only consumer awareness of the quality of your homes, but what it means to your staff, supply chain and other stakeholders?
The WhatHouse? seal of approval is an implicit assurance to our colleagues within the business and wider industry, including our supply chain and contractors, that we take our responsibility as a high-quality developer incredibly seriously. We take immense pride in our commitment to building exceptional new homes, designed to complement their surrounds. Excellent placemaking is at the heart of what we do, and I firmly believe that our skills and expertise are second to none. We want the industry to recognise first-hand the level of commitment and care we bring to creating new homes.
For our customers, where they live is the most important decision they can make. They will naturally want to put their trust in a developer that is equally committed to ensuring their home is of as high a standard as possible. For City & Country, this is about creating places that we would be proud to live in ourselves. This is not just building excellent homes but also prioritising placemaking to provide lasting value for generations to come.
What do you believe gave your company the winning edge?
We are proud of our decades-long reputation for creating exceptional places to live. Our roots began in the restoration of heritage buildings up and down the country. We learned crucial lessons from the builders and architects of old and use these as a foundation for our new build development, which now comprises around three quarters of our development programme. Our appreciation and respect for history has given us the foundations for building new homes. This, paired with a passion for craftsmanship and quality architecture, has given us the tenacity and drive to truly stand out in today’s housebuilding market.
How important are these awards, not just for showcasing and celebrating excellence, but recognising, often in the face of negative publicity, there are some terrific housebuilders and projects out there, passionate people in the industry doing great things?
There is a misconception that developers all follow an unspoken code, which is build as quickly and cheaply as possible. If that were true, it would be a very sad story for the housing market. It’s important to remember that building and selling homes is completely different to any other product. Housebuilders are responsible for creating homes for people to live in, and shaping the look and feel of communities, sometimes forever.
That is a huge responsibility and not something that we take lightly. Across our industry, there are people that feel truly passionate about housing, and care about the small role they play in building great homes – whether that’s the carpenters, architects, planners, or sales teams. The WhatHouse? Awards are an important conduit for the message that our industry.
What plans have you got to promote and market your win and how valuable is the award as a marketing asset for selling homes, recruiting talent, finding partners etc?
We think that a WhatHouse? award should be an opportunity to discuss the fantastic things that our team is doing – of course we will be shouting about the results to our customers, partners and colleagues. However, we feel the work that we have done to be awarded in the first place must always come front and centre. That means sharing the good news stories and continuing to work hard to build exceptional homes.
What we are not prepared to do now is to rest on our laurels; we have big plans for 2025 and beyond, and we will continue to learn and improve not just to be the best, but to stay the best.
What was the immediate reaction in the room on the day and how proud were you communicating the win back to the staff?
Our team was absolutely euphoric on the day, but being able to share the results with the entire business was an absolute joy. The whole office was buzzing the following Monday!
What I loved was how absolutely everyone shared the excitement. After all, every single one of our team members has contributed to our win, and it is only right that they should share that feeling of success.
What is your overall impression of the WhatHouse? Awards as both an event on the day and its value in championing the best new homes in Britain?
The WhatHouse? Awards are an industry staple – everyone in our sector knows what they are, and they know what it means to win one. We have always looked at the winners of each category not just as the best of the best, but they set a standard for the entire industry to strive towards. Competition is very healthy for our industry, and without it there would be no drive for innovation and improvement.
We would like to congratulate everyone who won this year and look forward to next year.
Could you be the UK’s next best housebuilder? Entries for the WhatHouse? Awards are open now. Enter before 18th July for your chance to shine. Click here to enter.
