5 January, 2011

Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside finalist in REIQ Awards for third time in four years

Leading Brisbane commercial property firm, Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside, is a finalist in the 2011 REIQ Awards for Excellence. 

Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside is among the four contenders in the Commercial Agency of the Year category for the third time in four years, while associate director Greg Tate is a finalist in the Corporate Support Person of the Year category for a third straight year. 

The awards will be announced at a ceremony at the Sofitel in Brisbane on 11 February 2011, with winners from all categories to represent Queensland in the REIA Awards for Excellence on the Gold Coast in March 2011. 

Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside principal Joseph Grasso said this was the fourth straight year the office had had two or more finalists at the awards.

"We are confident of winning one of these prestigious awards,” Mr Grasso said.

He added that the Brisbane commercial property market had presented its share of challenges over the past three years, which made the nominations even more satisfying.

“We upped the ante with our Corporate & Social Responsibility programs in 2010,” Mr Grasso said.

In 2010, Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside supported Estia House, a respite centre for young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities and the popular ‘Bridge to Brisbane’ fun run.

The nominations also represent the culmination of the last five years of cultural re-engineering at Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside.

“I joined five years ago from a rival agency and saw Raine & Horne as a great brand that was well-known for its training programs, however the firm had to work hard to retain quality headcount," he said.

“We addressed staff turnover by changing the environment and this involved giving our team members opportunities to fulfil their potential. We introduced open style management, which enables everyone to provide input into the direction of the business.”

Mr Grasso said Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside also reviewed its customer value proposition.

“It’s all about high quality service to lessees and lessors and this has generated a high level of repeat referrals.

“Our team members do multiple transactions with the same people. They take them through the commercial property transaction process better than anyone else. This is our point of difference."

Mr Tate said he was excited by his nomination and attributed his consistency to developing new initiatives to support the Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside sales and leasing teams. 

‘I’m hopeful as I missed out on the winning gong the last three years, but I have achieved more in the past calendar year including the launch of Insight, our commercial property magazine, as well as our fundraising that has lifted the profile of our business and made a significant contribution to the community.

“To be nominated for a REIQ award is an honour. It is recognition for our hard work and is something that makes me extremely proud."

Raine & Horne is an iconic Australian property firm, with more than 400 offices worldwide. Also an established Superbrand along with the likes of Qantas, Vegemite, Woolworths and Myer, the company has four distinct property service brands including Raine & Horne Residential, Raine & Horne Commercial, Raine & Horne Financial Services and Raine & Horne Rural.

For further media information contact:

• Angus Raine, CEO Raine & Horne on 02 9258 5422 or 0409 920 697
• Anna Truman, National Marketing & Communications Co-ordinator on 02 9258 544