ROMANS has won gold, being named as having the best website in the UK at the Estate Agency of the Year Awards.

The website for the estate and lettings agency, which has a branch in Winton Square, in Basingstoke’s Top of The Town, can be found at romans.co.uk.

Vincent Courtney, director of residential sales at Romans, said: “As more and more online estate agents launch websites it’s more important than ever that Romans’ online presence is spot on and as accessible as our teams of experts in the branches.

“Winning this award is a testament to all of the hard work that’s gone into building our bespoke property website.”

The judges commented on the success the website has bought and how it has become “an integral part of the business, providing customers and staff with an informative, up to date resource.”

They also commented on the mobile site which “has undergone content enhancement to provide a better experience for customers.”

Vincent said: “We use our website in a different way to many traditional estate agents – it’s much more than just a property search portal.

“We share our experience and knowledge of the most relevant and up to date property news with our customers to enable them to make the right property decisions, and we provide useful guides and insights into local topics that are of concern to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants – something that has proven to be very popular based on the high volumes of visitors coming to our website.”

Last year the firm launched new career site, romans.co.uk/careers, allowing candidates to apply directly online, and even attach their LinkedIn account, if suitable.

Romans also walked away with a silver award for Best Training and Development, with the judges saying: “The training programme at Romans has to meet two criteria – relevance and quality, and courses are only offered if they meet both of these. Feedback is sought after every course ensuring content and delivery standards remain high.

“Every individual is assigned an annual training budget and on average they will undergo 35 hours of training per year plus individual coaching from managers and directors.

“Retention is extremely high so clients can experience service delivered by expert and personable individuals.”