A vendor couple who bought a house through an estate agency in Bedfordshire have won an estimated £10,000 prize to pay their mortgage for a year following a national competition.

The prize was organised by Home Move Box after it received 12,000 entries via forms distributed nationally within boxes distributed last year via its 5,000-strong agent network.

The lucky couple (pictured) are Ben Drake and Donna Lincoln who bought their home via the Shefford branch of Hunters-owned estate agency Country Properties.

This is the first run of the prize draw, which began in January 2021 and continued throughout the year, with the winning entry picked at random this month.

My Home Box says it has seen strong growth in the number of sales and letting agents using its service, which offers home movers a box full of discount offers from retailers such as AO, Wayfair, Dunelm and Homebase, along with a selection of useful food and home products for those moving into their homes including a bottle of beer.

Winner Ben Drake comments: “When I heard the news, I couldn’t quite believe it. You never think you’re going to win these things.”

40,000 boxes

Home Move Box MD, Adrian Camp, says: “When we launched the competition twelve months ago, we never believed we’d receive so many entries. But it’s testament to how quickly our free box service has grown over this time. We now send out over forty thousand boxes every month, so it’s quickly turned into a very big operation.”

Shefford Country Properties has been handing free welcome boxes to their customers since February 2021.

Branch manager Jamie Nicholas (main pic) adds: “We love handing the welcome boxes to our customers on moving day. They’re always so happy to receive them and it’s a great way to leave a positive lasting impression.”

Read more about moving-in boxes.