Exhibitors and visitors alike toast the success of the French Village at the A Place in the Sun Live Overseas Property Exhibition last month.

From the moment the doors opened we had a packed three days in the French Village, with the number of visitors far exceeding our expectations.

Over the three days 5,190 visitors attended the exhibition, a record for the London Show. In a great many of the French Village seminars there was standing room only. See our French Village website for further details.

Doug and Denise Jackson, who are planning to relocate to the Gers, echoed a sentiment of many visitors: "We learned so much, and feel so much better prepared for our prospective move to France. We also enjoyed the mood of the exhibition", they said.

Ben Scott, Senior Broker at currency specialist FC Exchange, sponsors of the French Village, said "Thanks to all those involved and who attended what was yet another fantastic show. It is great to see so much interest in buying property in France. We are looking forward to future exhibitions!"

For Joanna Leggett of estate agents Leggett Immobilier,"This exhibition has always been successful for us and this year was no exception. It is an excellent opportunity to meet prospective buyers who have plans to relocate to France, or buy a second home in the country. What pleased me most was that I didn’t even have time to leave our stand to gain an overall impression of the exhibition. In other words, we had so many visitors that we had to work hard all the time. That really is a good sign."

Sarah Bogard of Furley Page solicitors, commented: "The exhibition at Olympia attracted many visitors, especially to the French Village. The Furley Page legal team was asked many varied questions related to buying and owning property in France. Some of the common topics of conversation were the tax impact of living in France or letting a French property and what people needed to think about concerning property ownership structures and reviewing Wills after a purchase. Our two seminars were very well attended and we met many people who were keen to invest in France. Thank you to all those who came to speak with us over the weekend."

Edward Landau at Le Bonheur Immobilier based in South West France stated, "We were encouraged by the strong level of interest shown on the recent Place in the Sun exhibition. It has been several years since we have seen such enthusiastic support and as an expression of our appreciation we are offering a bottle of champagne to all clients from the exhibition who make appointments to view during the months of May and June."

Arthur Cutler, from the Brittany based planning consultancy French Plans attended as an exhibitor for the first time: "I'd like to thank the organisers for doing such a great job. Being involved in the daily seminar programme and having such an interested and attentive audience proved to us what an excellent show this is. I'm looking forward to Birmingham later in the year and would encourage anyone who hasn't been before to attend."

Sally Stone, Managing Director of the LBV Property Services Group stated, "APITS at Olympia this year was an amazing experience with a constant stream of people arriving on the stand. It was no surprise to hear there were so many visitors, and I have to say we felt as though we had spoken to every single one of them. The vast majority were intent on either purchasing property or planning a new life in France: they were serious in their information gathering. We look forward to the next Show"

Alan Redmond of Century 21 ACI estate stated: "This was an excellent show for us. We had in depth conversations with many people who left their contact details and asked to be put on our mailing list. Many of these had immediate plans - and budgets - to purchase and have already scheduled visits. This is the 3rd APITS show that we have participated in - and we'll certainly be there next year. The most important factor for me is that practically all the visitors have serious aquisition projects - and the 'Village' concept allows them to focus easily on the countries that interest them - France in our case. Finally I found the seminar sessions (including mine!) excellent crowd drawers to the village - and therefore to our stand."

The next A Place in the Sun Live Show will be at the Birmingham NEC between 27th and 29th September, when we shall once again be present with our French Village.

Prize Draw Winner

We are pleased to announce the winner of our French Village prize draw is Paul Willis from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

Our congratulations to Paul who wins a hamper.