Over 50 guests joined the Black Grace Cowley team at its Victoria Street offices on 18th September for a champagne and canapes reception, and to enjoy the exclusive launch of the company’s fresh brand identity in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
Black Grace Cowley’s Tim Groves thanked clients and colleagues for supporting the company’s growth over two decades and outlined his plans for the future. Mr Groves then took the opportunity to announce the launch of the company’s brand new charity programme, which aims to raise a total of ?20,000 for local charities over the next three years. Starting from 1st October, Black Grace Cowley will pledge ?100 from the proceeds of every house sold to one of three local charities. Regardless of the price of the house sold, a Black Grace Cowley client can choose to donate to Manx Breast Cancer, Isle of Man Alzheimer’s Society, or Rebecca House, in a fundraising scheme that is funded entirely by Black Grace Cowley’s fees.
Tim Groves said: “The decision and inspiration to revisit our brand and company approach was motivated simply by the fact that we love selling houses, listing houses, valuing houses. It’s what we do, and it’s what we do best. Our residential re-launch gives us the chance to take our business ‘back to basics’ for our clients, and for all prospective sellers and buyers too. It’s high time that the local market was simplified. Our new direction aims to do just that, and our new brand aims to reflect it.”
Mr Groves continued: “Presentation, service and timing are everything in this business. Black Grace Cowley has always been a forward thinking agency. We have a simple fee structure, easy to use website, no hidden charges, 3D floor mapping, HD videos – we were even the first to launch reflective ‘for sale’ boards across the Island. But we believe support of the local community is where a company really shows its true colours. Our ambitions to raise ?20,000 for local charities are a great way of getting our clients involved in local fundraising. Of course, it means Black Grace Cowley takes a little less, but we give a lot more back to the Manx community and can only strengthen our desire to sell houses. All in all, our 20th Anniversary celebrations were fantastic. I would like to everyone who attended and look forward to another 20 years on the Isle of Man.”
Julie Stokes of Manx Breast Cancer said: “The Manx Breast Cancer Support Group is really thrilled to be chosen a as one of Black Grace Cowley’s charities. I think it is incredibly generous of Black Grace Cowley to help local charities in this way. We have to date raised ?1,050,000 of our ?1.5m target. We have achieved this in 10 months of fundraising. This is partly because of the generosity of local businesses and the very generous support of the Manx public. We still have a long way to go but are quite confident of achieving our goal.”
Mary Doyle of Rebecca House said: “Our children’s hospice costs just over half a million pounds each year to provide the paediatric specialist palliative care needed by our 30 children – the support of Black Grace Cowley and difference each donation will make will be considerable. 83p of every pound donated is spent on patient care so this type of support will be significant. On behalf of Hospice and in particular Rebecca House patients I would like to thank everyone involved.”
Steve Green, operations manager for Alzheimer’s Society on the Isle of Man, said: “We are delighted that Black Grace Cowley has chosen Alzheimer's Society to take part in its charity donation scheme and would like to say a big thank you. We are pleased to now be a part of the community with a permanent base in Douglas to support people on the island who are living with dementia and their carers as well as raising awareness of the disease. One in three people over 65 will develop dementia and there are 850,000 people living with the condition in the UK, costing ?26 billion a year. As a charity, we rely on the generosity of individuals and organisations like Black Grace Cowley to help us continue our vital work so that Alzheimer's Society can continue leading the fight against dementia.”
To keep up to date with Black Grace Cowley’s progress on meeting its ?20,000 charity ambition, follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/blackgracecowley, on Twitter @iomproperties, or by visiting www.blackgracecowley.com.
Photo - Former Directors of Black Grace Cowley, Patrick Cowley and Anna Kelly cut the celebratory cake with Tim Groves.
