Emotional contributions at first Women In Agency conference

The first Women in Estate Agency conference has been a sell out. 

Over 250 people from across the industry attended the day-long event in London, hearing from high profile agent Liana Loporto-Browne, one of the founders. 

She says: “We knew when we started the group we had something special, we also knew when we sold out the conference that we were witnessing the start of a period of change in our industry, but what transpired from the event is that we have witnessed the start of a really positive movement. 

“The feedback we have received has been phenomenal, the men and women who attended have expressed that the event and the community is like nothing ever seen in our industry before and we have been inundated with support and offers of involvement for the next event. 

“Watch this space, it’s coming and it’s going to be bigger, better and provide even more value. We are determined to break down barriers to true equality and see women succeed and thrive in their careers and we are so excited to now take the Women in Estate Agency group to the next level and to be the real voice of change in our industry.”

Loporto-Browne - who co-founded the group with Clare Hughes - have formed an advisory board made up of Sarah Edmundson (chief executive of Agents Together); Lucy Noonan (owner of the Atomic Consultancy); Verona Frankish (chief executive of Yopa); Clare Yates (owner of CY Training); Kirsty Franks (owner of Kirsty Franks Marketing) and event manager Sarah Davies.

The conference was addressed by keynote speaker Joanna Swash, group chief executive of Moneypenny, and also heard from Stephen Brown, an experienced property agent, who shared his story of how he dealt with the loss of his wife, and Clare Yates who discussed her experience of sexual assault in the workplace.