Robert Watts, the family-run estate agency in Bradford, has launched an employee of the year award in memory of its late colleague, Vic Southerington, who sadly passed away in April of coronavirus.

The Vic Southerington Award, which was voted for by employees at all levels of the business, was presented by his wife Margaret to Nicola Astley.

Astley is office manager at the firm’s Highfield Road sales branch and has worked for the company for more than 15 years.

Vic Southerington started working for Robert Watts in the early 1980s as a valuer in the company’s first office on Bolton Road. The Chartered Surveyor went on to work for the Yorkshire Building Society for 20 years, before returning to Robert Watts in 2002.

Director James Watts then went on to work in partnership with Southerington to successfully expand into surveying.

Southerington remained committed to Robert Watts and retrained as a Residential and Commercial Energy Performance Certificate Assessor, which he continued in a freelance capacity until earlier this year.

James Watts commented: “Vic was a great guy, always selfless and would put himself out for anyone who needed help regardless of how busy he was. He would work all hours and always had time for a cup of tea and a chat – his legendary opening line of ‘have you got five minutes?’ meant you better clear the diary for the next hour!

“He made lots of friends in the industry throughout his career and was genuinely liked by everyone and will be sadly missed by all of us who met him.”