Housebuilding trio up for prestigious industry awards

A Midlands housebuilder is celebrating after three of its staff were announced in the shortlists for two prestigious national award ceremonies.

Northamptonshire-based Cora Homes has seen two staff shortlisted at the National Building and Construction Awards, with a third among the finalists at this year’s Housebuilder Awards.

Samantha Starling, Head of Marketing, and Graduate Planner Jess O’Neil have been shortlisted in the Women in Construction and Apprentice of the Year categories respectively, while Site Manager Aki Mitha is in the running for Housebuilder’s Housebuilder Star of the Year.

Luke Simmons, Managing Director of Cora Homes, said: “At Cora our mission is to Create Amazing Places, and we simply couldn’t do that without having amazing people in our team.

“Samantha, Jess and Aki are the epitome of what makes Cora great. While they all work within different departments, they all share the common traits of ambition, determination and the constant drive to develop themselves professionally.”

Samantha has been instrumental in energising the company’s marketing team since Cora’s 2022 rebrand, while Jess has made great strides supporting the planning team since joining the business last year.

Aki first joined Cora as a labourer in 2018 and has since risen through the ranks, playing a key role in the construction of successful developments like The Old Sawmill in Leicestershire and Lancaster Gate in Bedfordshire.

Luke added: “We have previously had lots of award success as a company in our approach to sustainability, but seeing our people highlighted individually means the world to us as a business.

“All my fingers are crossed for them ahead of both ceremonies in October.”

Sam and Jess will find out if they are successful at their final on Thursday, October 24, followed by Aki one week later on October 31.