Only penalties could separate Ryan and Savills as they went toe-to-toe for the Property Cup trophy this week, with the real estate tax specialists claiming a late shootout victory in west London.
The annual football tournament, organised by agency Lambert Smith Hampton, returned to a full complement of 16 teams for the first time since the pandemic, when the cup was postponed for a couple of years. It was the 59th edition of the competition that raises funds for the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research.
CoStar News was the media sponsor, with SmartSpaces,design and branding agency Tayler Reid and Porterfield PR among the other firms that backed the tournament at Loftus Road stadium, the home of Queens Park Rangers Football Club. Last year the tournament raised more than £7,000 for the Fund, read here.
The teams that took part in this year were from LSH, CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Knight Frank, Savills, Montagu Evans, Gardiner & Theobald, Arcadis, CoStar, Ryan, Hartnell Taylor Cook, Colliers, Glenny, Newmark and The Office Agents Society.
Following a full day's action at the South Africa Road ground, Ryan and Savills faced off for the main trophy. Ryan previously played in the competition as Altus Group before they were acquired by the global tax services and software provider in January.
Global real estate consultancy Savills dominated much of the early play in the final, creating a handful of chances. This included a stinging volley that had the Ryan keeper scrambling down low to his right-hand side.
Ryan were limited to chances on the break but almost won it at the end of regulation time, when the Savills keeper struggled to control a cute flick-on at the near post from a corner, before it was cleared.
With the teams drawing 0-0 after full-time, the final went to penalties.
It had looked like Savills would pick up the trophy when Ryan were the first side to miss from the 12-yard spot after a number of perfect penalties. But Savills failed to convert their crucial spot kick to provide a lifeline to the boys in navy blue.
It was an opportunity that Ryan did not squander, as they scored their next penalty before Savills missed their second of the shoot-out. Ryan clinched victory by converting their next penalty, winning 5-4 after six attempts each.
Winning captain David Semple told CoStar News his team was delighted to get their hands on the trophy, having been semi-finalists last year.
He said: "It's great to get there and win in the end, but we started off quite slow – two draws and then a win at the end of the group. We had to score five goals to top the group, and we managed to score six. We then went from strength to strength and won all our games, I think only conceding one goal."
Semple reserved particular praise for the team's striker, Andy Myers, who claimed the Golden Boot award for the tournament, while he said defender Ben Porter had been solid at the heart of defence.
Before the Property Cup final, last year’s winners LSH and their opponents JLL fought it out for the Property Plate trophy. With that match also finishing 0-0 after regular time, the sides took turns to take shots from the 12-yard spot.
After a number of cleverly-dispatched penalties, LSH blinked first – missing from the spot to leave JLL with the opportunity to lift the plate, which they did after converting their final kick with aplomb.
Jon Rea-Palmer, head of M4 Corridor at LSH, and the principal organiser of the tournament, said it was great for the tournament to return to a 16-team format after the pandemic years.
He said: "The tournament has gone beyond our wildest expectations. QPR have been amazing hosts, every year the club raises the bar higher, and the actual standard of the competition is the best it's ever been.
"This year we've had teams bring players in across the nation, not just from certain regions, and it's really been a good competition."
He added: "COVID was the tough bit for us because there was no tournament and slowly but surely we have built it up to 16 teams."
The CoStar team of Ryan D'Souza (captain), Makram Osman, Zachariah Aliane, Thomas George, Moncef Djibli, Ehtesham Yusuf, Kelvin Makunde, Kai Bucciero, Marcel Byfield, Sam Thomas and Tom Ho went out in the quarter-finals to Savills.
Lady Moore, the founder of the Fund and Sir Bobby Moore's widow, was in attendance to watch the finals. She told CoStar News that the Fund was grateful for the continued support of the competition that has raised almost £60,000 for charity in its current iteration.
She said: “Next year is going to be the 60th anniversary from when this cup was founded and the tenth year under the new organisers, LSH. It's great to see how the tournament has grown year-on-year."
With more than 16,800 men and women dying from cancer each year, the charity raises awareness of the illness. Donations can be made via the Bobby Moore Fund, a charity which raises money in memory of England's legendary captain during the 1966 World Cup triumph who died from cancer.
(Updated on 12 May 2025 to reflect Ryan is a US-headquartered firm)
