An initiative by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to offer Continental European real estate firms the opportunity to become RICS-regulated is proving successful with over 50 companies signing up by end-December. Another 15 firms have already been approved and received the 'Regulated by RICS' label, Diane Telford, RICS Director of Regulation Operations, told PropertyEU.

'It is important for companies to demonstrate to clients and governments how important ethics and professionalism are in their business,' Telford said. ‘As such, many European firms are opting to be 'regulated by RICS' and are already recognising the advantages of the label.’

RICS hopes to replicate the success in Europe of the designation in the UK, where over 10,000 firms now carry the 'Regulated by RICS' stamp on their letterhead. RICS expects to see a large part of the requests in Europe coming from Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, where most of its 4,390 qualified members are based.. However, applications are also being submitted by Central European developing countries such as Poland, Telford said.