Four property industry figures receive awards in NY Honours list

The two founders of LGBTQ+ property networking forum Freehold have been awarded MBEs in King Charles’s first New Year Honours List along with Kate Faulkner (OBE) and property TV presenter Alison Cork (OBE).

Faulkner, who is a regular columnist for The Negotiator magazine, has been recognised for her work with the Home Buying and Selling Group and The Lettings Council and overall for her ‘services to the property industry’.

“I feel a bit like I’ve been given the award for ‘top goal scorer’ – which you only get thanks to everyone that has supported you and in the HBSG’s case that’s an awful lot of very committed people that have worked tirelessly over the years together.,” she says.

Alison Cork (pictured), who has been a regular on TV and in national newspapers as a property pundit and interior design expert, has also been given an OBE.

David Mann and Saleem Fazal formed Freehold in 2011 for LGBTQ+ professionals in a groundbreaking move for the property industry.

They were given the award in recognition of the work Freehold has done in making the real estate sector more inclusive for LGBTQ+ agents as well as the support it has given to professionals.

Mann is a partner at building consultancy Tuffin Ferraby Taylor LLP (TFT), and Fazal a partner at international law firm Taylor Wessing LLP.

Mann says: “To be recognised like this at a time when LGBTQ+ people around the world face increased discrimination sends a strong message about Britain’s position as a country that is inclusive and respectful of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation.”

Fazal says: “When David and I embarked on the Freehold journey more than a decade ago, we had big ambition. This recognition belongs to the whole Freehold team, Taylor Wessing, TFT, our key corporate sponsors, the property press and all our members.”

1,000 members

Since Freehold’s founding, it has grown to have a membership of more than 1,000 people. As well as advocating for LGBTQ+ inclusivity, it has taken more than 50 professionals through its official mentorship programme.

The current Freehold board (Fazal and Mann stepped away from their own positions in early 2022) lauded the contribution of the pair to LGBTQ+ inclusivity.

Freehold co-chair Scott Parsons says: “What was once a lonely sector for many LGBTQ+ people has become a lot more accepting and inclusive over the past few years. That’s in no small part thanks to the efforts and vision of people like David and Saleem.”