Leading Scottish property portal ESPC has announced the graduation of the second cohort of its SPC Property Practice Certification qualification, on Tuesday 17 December 2024, with a 100% pass rate.

43 students from across 23 of ESPC’s Chartered solicitor estate agency member firms committed to gaining the qualification in 2024, with every student passing their exams and acquiring the SPC Property Practice Certificate, accredited by the Law Society of Scotland. The students graduated on 17 December 2024 in a ceremony at the Law Society of Scotland’s offices on Morrison Street, Edinburgh, with speeches from Chairman of ESPC Andrew Diamond and the Law Society of Scotland.

The qualification is the first of its kind in the UK, specifically aimed at solicitor estate agents, and provides ESPC’s Chartered member firms with the opportunity to get ahead of potential UK-wide estate agency regulation coming into force. The inaugural cohort in 2023 also graduated with a 100% pass rate.

ESPC spoke with the relevant Westminster parties in the early stages of designing the course to ensure it could provide maximum value for the students undertaking the qualification, as well as ensuring that it would enable qualified solicitor estate agents to provide the highest levels of knowledge, service and care to clients, going above and beyond the levels offered by traditional estate agents.

The syllabus was created by ESPC in collaboration with the Law Society of Scotland and the Edinburgh Conveyancers Forum, and was delivered by six trainers including chartered surveyors, lawyers, solicitors and marketing experts. The subjects covered include Estate Agency; Marketing and Branding; Building Construction; Conveyancing for Non-Conveyancers; Legal; and a new addition to this year’s course, Ethics, delivered by The Law Society of Scotland’s Property Law Committee, to drive home the solicitor estate agency proposition and its importance within the Scottish property industry. The qualification was achieved through a mix of online multiple choice and written assessments, and the current cohort began their studies in April 2024, with the final exam taking place in October.

The new qualification ties into the ESPC Charter, which offers ESPC’s member firms the opportunity to sign up to Chartered status and ensure that they offer their customers the very highest standards of care and expertise. This new qualification further enhances the standards customers should expect from Chartered firms, with the accredited solicitor estate agents committed to offering a better experience to every one of their customers and clients.

It is ESPC’s plan to offer the course again for new students in 2025, in the hope that more of its Chartered firms take advantage of the opportunity to upskill and gain broader knowledge and expertise. It also hopes that more of its 140-plus member firms will sign up to the ESPC Charter, making them eligible for this training. The course will then be rolled out to other SPCs in Scotland, making this higher standard of service for property buyers and sellers available across the country.

Ashley McInulty, Head of Member Services at ESPC, commented: “We are incredibly proud of our graduates today, following months of hard work and studying to attain this unique qualification. Once again, their commitment highlights just how seriously ESPC’s member firms take their obligations to their customers, and their pledges to offer the very best service. ESPC is dedicated to improving consumer standards in the property industry, and it remains our hope that the SPC Property Practice Certification helps to assure customers that they are in the very best hands when they choose to appoint an ESPC solicitor estate agent. We are thrilled to have once again worked so closely with both the Law Society of Scotland and the Edinburgh Conveyancers Forum on the delivery of this qualification. We’d like to express our heartfelt congratulations to every one of our fantastic graduates today.”