MARCHES Housing Associa-tion has cause to celebrate this year as it has been officially recognised as an Investor In Excellence.

The association, which is based in Leominster, owns and manages about 2,700 homes in Herefordshire, Wor-cestershire and Shropshire.

It received the Investors In Excellence award, given to organisations that demonstrate improved performance and results, at a ceremony held at the National Motorcycle Museum, near Solihull, in front of more than 400 guests.

The award is in addition to Marches Housing Association achieving a decade of recognition as an Investor In People earlier this year.

To be awarded the Investors In Excellence gong, organisations have to prove they have achieved a standard of all-round performance in all key areas, such as leadership, processes, staff and customer results.

Presenting the award, Ian Nield, chief executive of Midlands Excellence, said: "This is a terrific achievement for Marches Housing Associa-tion which has shown a real desire to be excellent in everything it does.

"It has thrown itself into our activities and reaped the rewards and we hope that many others will follow its example."

David Hinchcliffe, managing director of Marches Housing, said: "We committed to Investors In Excellence in 2004 and we are all incredibly proud that our hard work and dedication to providing high standards has paid off.

"We have to reapply for the award every two years to ensure that we maintain our commitment to continuous improvement and we are determined that these standards won't slip.

"It's important to acknowledge that there are often times that the work we carry out could be done more effectively and more efficiently and we constantly strive to find new and smarter ways of working. We are very fortunate to have a team of very dedicated staff on board who work very well together and appreciate that what they do directly affects our tenants.

"We are all truly delighted that our efforts have been recognised in this way."