Christian Völkers played host to the annual Engel & Völkers Polo Cup on Majorca on 31 July and 1 August. More than 500 employees from the global Engel & Völkers network and international guests attended the event at his “Son Coll” estate. The guest list included high-profile names from the worlds of showbusiness, culture, business and sport – like the actor Heino Ferch and his wife Marie-Jeanette, Carl Erbprinz zu Oettingen-Wallerstein with his wife Anna and her daughter Yoanna, Hieronymus Graf Wolff Metternich with his wife Marynic, Oliver von Boch with his wife Dina, Cristina Macaya, Simoneta Gómez-Acebo (cousin of King Felipe VI.), and Diandra Douglas. “It is an absolute pleasure to be able to share my great passion for polo with friends and associates from around the world. And I am equally pleased that interest in the Polo Cup is growing year on year, both within the polo scene and beyond,” said Christian Völkers, Founder and CEO of Engel & Völkers AG.
The polo tournament took place over two days in spectacular surroundings overlooking vineyards and the Mediterranean. Eight top-level teams of three players competed for the title. They were put forward by the sponsors La Martina, Bentley, MS Europa 2, St. Regis, 1724 Tonic Water, Relojeria Alemana, SHA Wellness and Engel & Völkers, respectively. The host Christian Völkers also got in the saddle, playing for the Engel & Völkers side. Internationally renowned polo player Christopher Kirsch (handicap +4) on the Engel & Völkers team fell in the final round and was forced to retire from the tournament due to injury. After the preliminary rounds on Friday, the final was held on Saturday between the La Martina and Bentley teams. The La Martina team emerged from the match as the winners of the Polo Cup. The host Ninon Völkers presented the coveted Engel & Völkers Polo Cup Trophy to Naomi Schröder, Tahnee Schröder and Gaston Marquez, one of the best polo players in the world (handicap +6).
Spirited finale with an Argentinean asado and dinner party. Employees attended the tournament on Friday in accordance with the dress code “All in White”, and enjoyed an Argentinean asado afterwards in the estate gardens. Then after the final match on Saturday, the private guests were treated to an exclusive dinner party in the grounds. SHA Wellness Hotel sponsored the meal, with products from its own farm. On Saturday, a dinner party took place for high-profile guests with wine produced on the estate. Christian Völkers' historic finca is set in the beautiful “Serra de Tramuntana” mountains. The 15-hectare property is set over several terraces, stretching down as far as the sea. The Hamburg-based entrepreneur has painstakingly restored “Son Coll”, which is over 500 years old, taking great care to preserve its original character. He has been growing wine on his traditional estate for almost 20 years.
From Dubai to Malta, from New York to SicilyNetworking in a unique atmosphere: that was the upshot of the property fair held at the E&V Global Event! E&V shops and commercial offices presented a total of 160 of their most exclusive property listings – from luxury apartments in Dubai, to properties on the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Sicily, through to a penthouse on New York's Park Avenue.
“The property fair gave me the perfect opportunity to come into contact with colleagues from around the world. Many partners and real estate agents took a closer look at our properties on display and we talked about our respective markets and about possible opportunities for cooperating with one another,” reported Benjamin Grech, Managing Director of Engel & Völkers on Malta. A team at the property fair was on hand to quickly initiate contact between the guests. In moments when partners weren't stood at their own property displays but another partner showed interest in having a discussion with them, a member of the team would let the first partner know and bring the two of them together.
Kai Enders congratulates agents on outstanding achievementsOnce the presentations at the property fair had come to an end, an awards ceremony was held for the “Top Agents 2014” in the Residential and Commercial divisions. Member of the Board Kai Enders opened this ceremony with a short speech, congratulating the winners in eight categories on their superb achievements. 26 of the total of 42 “TOP Real Estate Agents 2014” were at the event to accept their awards from the presenters on stage.
Philipp Niemann, Managing Director of Engel & Völkers Residential GmbH, presented the winners in the category “TOP Agents Transaction Volume”. Peter Frigo, Master Licence Partner of E&V in Switzerland, praised the best real estate agents in the category “TOP Agent Commission”. Meanwhile the winners in the category “TOP Agents Rentals” were congratulated by Lena Soyke, Head of Residential DACH, while Craig Hutchison, Master Licence Partner of E&V in South Africa announced the winners in the category “TOP Agents Sales”. Then Dirk Beller, Head of Commercial DACHCZ, took to the microphone and presented the “Top Real Estate Agents” from the Commercial division in the categories “Highest Net Revenues”, “Highest Number of Brokered Properties”, “Outperformer” and “Newcomer” for sales and rentals respectively.
All winners were given a glass “TOP Agent Award” at the ceremony. In addition, on their return home from Majorca they will be receiving a top-quality silver-plated champagne cooler with an individual engraving and a bottle of champagne as a prize. E&V also invited the real estate agents and consultants to the E&V Global Event free of charge and provided accommodation for them at the four-star Hotel Meliá Palas Atenea in Palma.
23 licence partners and real estate agents present their marketHigh potential for synergies within the global networkThere were other speakers at the E&V Global Event besides the four keynote speakers. 23 licence partners and real estate agents took the opportunity to present their market and exclusive homes on a stage during the property fair. In five-minute presentations they introduced themselves to the audience as partners for cross-selling and demonstrated just how much potential for synergies exists within the global network. The presenters included Giacomo Argenio, Sales Director at E&V Venice. He explained what makes Venice so attractive for buyers, for example the history and cultural heritage of the city and the good flight connections. In addition, he reported that only 15 percent of buyers are from Italy whilst 35 percent are from the UK.
Craig Hutchison, Master Licence Partner of E&V in South Africa, used his presentation to showcase South Africa as an attractive place of residence. He also gave an overview of the E&V network in South Africa and presented some exclusive property listings.
Michael Hannon, Licence Partner at E&V Solana Beach, from San Diego, USA, reported on his licence region, which is around half the size of Switzerland and has an annual market transaction volume of some 3.5 billion US dollars. To end with, he presented four high-end properties from the portfolio of E&V Solana Beach.
