Employee of UK's top agent took keys for burglaries

News Category: Industry News

An employee of an award-winning agent used keys held by his firm to enter tenants' homes and steal laptops, mobile phones and jewellery.

Gibbs Gillespie employee Thomas Jenkins, 19, entered homes in Pinner and Harrow, Middlesex.

He admitted three counts of burglary before Harrow magistrates and is now awaiting sentencing at Harrow Crown Court.

James Gibbs, a partner at the firm, issued a full apology for the incidents and said it was the first time in 20 years of business that anything like it had occurred.

The firm had taken immediate steps to review premises, and had changed the locks of properties.

Gibbs Gillespie has won numerous awards over a number of years, and is the current Sunday Times national Estate Agent of the Year. The firm has also won the top awards for its lettings and mortgages businesses.

Peter Knight, organiser of the Sunday Times awards, said: "It is such a shame that the actions of one misguided young man have the potential to call into question the credibility of one of the country's very best estate agents. Gibbs Gillesbie has consistently shown that it can be regarded as a benchmark for a successful business, but no one is immune from criminal activity.

"I believe the swift and efficient way in which the culprit was identified and the victims reimbursed shows that even when faced with a crisis,the company has maintained the standards that led the judges to appoint them as Estate Agency of the Year in 2009."

Christopher Hamer, the Ombudsman and chair of the judging panel said that Gibbs Gillespie's entry for the awards would have been rigorously examined. He added: "It is the case though, that anyone who is hell bent on criminal action can bypass business controls and act against the systems in place."




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