On Friday night, I went to the National Property Awards 2026 as a finalist for Young Property Professional of the Year.
I didn't win, and obviously I would have loved to bring the award home, but strangely, I still came away feeling like I'd won something.
In November 2024, I left my corporate job because I knew I wanted something different. I wanted more control over my time and what I was building, but a huge part of it was also wanting to create something that could give my parents more freedom and security in the future too.
A couple of months later, at the start of 2025, Mum and I launched Amhurst Lettings.
Property wasn't new to us. My family has worked in residential construction for more than 30 years, so I've grown up around building sites, renovations, new builds and all the problems that inevitably come with property.
We started Amhurst completely from scratch and we've spent the time since figuring out what works, what doesn't, what landlords actually value and how we want to do things differently.
So sitting at a national property awards ceremony in September 2026 as a finalist did feel a little bit surreal.
The best part of the night wasn't actually the award
Something I hadn't really expected was how lovely it would be to finally meet so many people I'd only ever spoken to online.
What I loved most was how genuinely pleased everyone seemed to be for each other. People I'd been supporting and cheering on online were doing the same for me and Amhurst, and we were celebrating their successes too.
There was no feeling that someone else doing well somehow meant there was less success available for everyone else.
It was just a room full of ambitious people building businesses, investing in property, trying new things and genuinely wanting to see the people around them do well too.
It also made me realise how much has changed
Most of the time I'm terrible for looking at what's next rather than what we've already done.
There's always another landlord I'd like us to work with, another part of the service I want to improve or another idea I want to try.
Friday forced me to look backwards for a minute.
We started with no managed portfolio and no established letting agency behind us. Today we're managing properties for landlords across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and the surrounding East Midlands, from single lets through to HMOs.
We're also becoming much clearer about what we want Amhurst to be.
We're particularly focused on working with portfolio landlords who don't just want somebody collecting the rent every month. They want someone keeping an eye on the property, dealing with tenants properly, staying on top of maintenance and compliance and actually telling them what's going on.
Our construction background has definitely shaped that. We tend to look at the actual property rather than seeing everything as an admin exercise, and that's something I want us to keep as we grow.
There's still plenty I want to change and improve, but I think that's part of the fun of building something yourself.
So no trophy, but I'm still taking it as a win
Being named a finalist for Young Property Professional of the Year at the National Property Awards 2026 this early into our journey means a lot.
It made me stop looking at the next target for five minutes and appreciate how much has changed since I handed my notice in back in 2024.
I'll happily take that.
A huge congratulations to all of the winners and everyone else who was nominated on Friday. It was lovely to finally meet so many of you properly and celebrate together.
About Amhurst Lettings
Amhurst Lettings is a family-run independent letting and property management agency working with landlords across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and the surrounding East Midlands. We manage single lets, HMOs and residential property portfolios, with a hands-on approach backed by more than 30 years of family experience in residential construction.
Let fast. Managed properly.