Dhalia seeking strategic partners in central Europe

Dhalia Real Estate will be extending its overseas network of 10 companies with 70 representative offices in UK and Ireland, to central Europe and preliminary talks are underway with real estate companies in Germany and Austria, Dhalia chairman and chief executive officer Franco Valletta told the company's annual conference at the InterContinental Hotel in St George's Bay, St Julian's.

The annual conference this year also served to introduce the members of its overseas network, most of whom travelled to Malta to attend this conference.

The network which is presently based in the UK is composed of ten companies: Anderson Strathern in Scotland, Bedfords in East Anglia, CB Hamilton Osborne King in Ireland, Hudson Moody in Yorkshire, Matthews Benjamin in Cumbria, Sharman Quinney International in Northamptonshire and Linconshire, PM International in Wales, Webbers in Devon and Cornwall, the Wright Estate Agency in the Isle of Wight, and Fisher Wrathall in Lancashire.

"2002 saw the launch and realisation of Dhalia's commitment to set up an overseas network of strategic partners, which is expected to expand on the continent later this year. 2002 was also a challenging year, which saw the implementation of various strategic business decisions related to operations and the branding process. In this respect all policies were reviewed in an effort to enhance professionalism. All this helped to strengthen Dhalia's position in the market," Mr Valletta said.

Dhalia's co-founder and business development director Chris Grech followed with a presentation entitled "Carrying the Dhalia Brand". In his presentation, Mr Grech placed particular emphasis on the importance of a consistent and professional approach towards colleagues and customers, to provide the highest level of service. He also spoke about the great responsibilities and commitment towards quality customer service of every property consultant representing Dhalia.

Dhalia's operations director Andrew Gatt gave an overview of the company's operations during 2002 and presented plans for this year. He also spoke about the company's newly launched Website and how this has contributed towards Dhalia's relationship marketing efforts.

Other speakers at the conference included Malta Tourism Authority chief executive officer Leslie Vella who spoke about Malta's attractions as a unique Mediterranean island, and MIDI plc CEO Ben Muscat, who gave a detailed overview of the Tigne Project.

Dhalia's top performing consultant for 2002 was Philip Incorvaja who, in recognition of his efforts and hard work, was presented with a holiday for two to Cuba.