Stagers scoop shortlist duo in nation's most prestigious property and business awards

The team at Lemon & Lime Interiors has been named in the line-up for The Negotiator Awards, a prestigious property awards program, and the ‘Grammys of entrepreneurship’, the Great British Entrepreneur Awards Midlands.

The nationwide home staging firm hopes to scoop both awards, in the company-wide and individual categories: Marketing Supplier of the Year: Products and Services and Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year.

The company transforms premium properties in preparation for sale, helping homeowners, developers and estate agents to present homes in their best possible condition to sell quickly - and often for a higher price.

Proud of its Midlands roots, the small business - which now boasts 12 employees - was founded eight years ago by award-winning innovator and busy mother-of-four Elaine Penhaul, in Melbourne, Derbyshire. Growth continues to be strong, with a significant rise in its latest annual revenue accounts, with the company servicing clients throughout the UK and gaining international recognition as a sector-leading staging firm.

Elaine Penhaul said: “I’m so proud that our talented team of experts has been shortlisted for such notable accolades. Our mission has always been to revolutionise the way people view the property marketing process, to make staging a prominent service in the UK and beyond and to showcase the significant return-on-investment opportunities for home sellers and agents.

“There have been many memorable moments for myself and the team, from writing a best-selling book, to developing our data and insights staging app, Stageflow. This year we launched the pilot of our Lemon & Lime Staging Group to help stagers scale-up and refine their businesses, and so to give the wider industry confidence in the suppliers they are using – with regulations not currently present for stagers in the UK.”

Lemon & Lime Interiors was globally recognised last year when it was named the Trifecta winner at the Best of Home Staging 2022 awards by the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP), winning all three categories; Staging Excellence, Client Care Excellence and Industry Leadership.

Elaine added: “We look forward to the upcoming award announcements - these awards have an impeccable reputation and we are overjoyed to be among some of the top players in our field.

Established for 15 years, The Negotiator Awards is the UK’s leading independent awards programme for estate and letting agents, their suppliers and the residential property industry.

The Great British Entrepreneur Awards has been celebrating the stories of exceptional entrepreneurs for over a decade. Shortlisted in its innovation category, Elaine is among the few recognised individuals who have demonstrated exceptional creativity, originality and for bringing groundbreaking ideas to the market.

Grant Leonard, publishing director of The Negotiator Awards, said: “The significance and importance of the awards is reflected in yet another year of high-quality entries, underlining this as the leading awards programme in the sector.”

He continued: “We have a panel of 30 of the most experienced, achieved and respected people in the industry. It includes the CEOs and representatives of Propertymark, Safeagent, RICS and NRLA, and some of the most senior and most accomplished individuals from all aspects of UK residential agency. Our judging process is the most robust, open and transparent process of any property awards, meaning that winning really demonstrates to the industry that the accolade of ‘the best’ is truly meaningful.”

Both awards are due to be announced in late November with live events taking place at Grosvenor House in London.