Bernard Gordon & Co’s Awards & Recognition
Within specialist areas of commercial property, particularly education and early years, professional reputation is built over time through consistent advisory work, sector understanding, and the ability to operate within complex regulatory and operational environments. Industry awards and professional platforms exist to identify firms that are actively engaged in these markets and whose work is recognised by peers, operators, and sector stakeholders.
The awards and industry engagements listed here relate to our current advisory activity and sector participation. They offer insight into where the team’s work is concentrated and how that work is recognised within professional and industry settings.
The Role of Awards in Specialist Property Sectors
In regulated and operationally sensitive sectors such as education and early years, awards tend to focus less on scale and more on relevance, technical competence, and sector insight. Shortlists and finalist positions are typically based on:
- Evidence of recent advisory activity within the sector
- Understanding of operational and regulatory constraints
- Quality and appropriateness of professional advice
- Peer and client-facing impact over a defined period
As a result, awards programmes in these areas tend to act as a snapshot of which advisors are actively contributing to the market at a given time, rather than a measure of marketing visibility alone.
For clients, this context can be useful when assessing whether an advisor is familiar with the practical realities of their sector and is engaged with current market conditions.
Education Investor Powerlist 2025 – Finalist
Bernard Gordon & Co’s Ben Goldstone has been named a Finalist in the Education Investor Powerlist 2025.
The Education Investor Powerlist focuses on organisations and individuals operating across education and children’s services, including advisory, investment, development, and operational disciplines. Inclusion is based on recent involvement in education-related property activity and the ability to demonstrate sector-specific understanding.
For Bernard Gordon & Co, this reflects our ongoing advisory work connected to:
- Nursery and education property valuations
- Portfolio planning and estate strategy
- Acquisition and disposal of operational education assets
- Property advice shaped by regulatory and operational requirements
We’re proud to have achieved finalist status, as this reflects the Ben’s established position within education and early years property advisory.
Education Property Awards 2025 – Finalist
Bernard Gordon & Co is also a Finalist at the Education Property Awards 2025. This is the second year in a row that we’ve been nominated for this award.
The Education Property Awards consider professional services, development, and advisory activity connected to education property. Assessment criteria typically include technical quality, sector relevance, and the ability to navigate the intersection between property, operations, and compliance.
This recognition aligns with the our work advising:
- Education providers and nursery groups
- Investors and lenders with exposure to education assets
- Institutional and charitable organisations
- Operational property where use, regulation, and value are closely linked
Awards of this nature reflect the quality and consistency of the advice our team provided on education, SEND, and early years property matters.
Speaking Engagements and Sector Contribution
Awards are only one aspect of professional recognition. In specialist markets, speaking roles and industry participation often reflect practical experience and familiarity with live sector issues.
Ben Wallis, Director and Owner of Bernard Gordon & Co, was a recent speaker at the Nursery Management Show, a national event for early years operators and decision-makers.
The session, “Entrepreneurial Growth in the Small to Mid-Market” focused on property-related considerations for nursery and early years businesses looking to scale. It draws on experience advising on estate strategy, acquisitions, and operational property challenges within a changing regulatory environment.
Themes included:
- The role of property in supporting sustainable growth
- Managing estates across multiple sites
- Regulatory factors influencing property decisions
- Aligning property structures with evolving business models
Sessions like this are informed by our experience advising operators on the practical issues affecting their businesses.
Established Sector Experience
In most cases, industry recognition comes from being consistently involved in sector-specific advisory work, such as valuations, acquisitions, estate planning, and regulatory matters, and applying that experience across a wide range of client situations.
In practice, this tends to be associated with advisors who:
- Are regularly advising on live instructions within the sector
- Understand how education and early years assets operate in practice
- Work day to day with current regulatory and market conditions
- Are accustomed to their advice being tested beyond individual transactions
While awards do not replace due diligence or professional judgement, they can provide an additional reference point for our clients when considering experience, sector focus, and professional standing.
Sector Experience, Reflected in Recognition
Our awards and industry engagements relate to the advisory work carried out across a range of specialist property areas, including:
- Commercial property advisory and consultancy
- Valuation and professional surveying
- Education and early years operational property
- Landlord and investor advisory
- Institutional, charity, and not-for-profit portfolios
Much of our experience is in areas where property advice needs to take account of how an asset is operated, regulated, and expected to perform over time. Here, our advice often extends beyond bricks and mortar, with property value and strategy closely tied to operational performance and compliance.
How We Reference Awards and Recognition
The awards and engagements referenced on this page are drawn from established industry programmes and sector events where participation is linked to active involvement in the market.
These are not retrospective or historic listings but relate to current advisory work and recent sector activity.
Only confirmed finalist positions, recognised industry awards, and verified speaking engagements are included. This ensures that what is shown reflects where the team is currently working, the sectors it is engaged in, and the types of issues it is advising on.
The page is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis as new awards, shortlists, or speaking engagements are confirmed, so that it continues to reflect the current focus rather than past achievements.
Professional Standards and Governance
Awards and industry recognition do not replace professional standards or regulatory oversight. Bernard Gordon & Co’s advisory work is carried out within established regulatory frameworks and professional standards that govern commercial property management practice.
These requirements influence how advice is approached in practice though, from how instructions are scoped and risks are assessed, to how information is handled and client interests are protected.
Professional body rules, anti-money laundering obligations, and data protection requirements form part of the day-to-day context in which advice is given.
For clients operating within regulated, institutional, or fiduciary environments, this matters.
Commercial property clients choice to work with us is often based not only on sector experience, but on our ability to work within formal governance structures, apply consistent professional judgement, and provide advice that can withstand scrutiny beyond a single transaction.