Suffolk's commercial property market is thriving, an Ipswich agent said as the team toasted 15 years in business.

Penn Commercial was launched in 2007 and moved to its current home in Fox's Marina, Wherstead, two years later.

Having survived a global recession in 2008, it remains upbeat. It ranked among the UK's top-performing agents in 2021 after clinching 68 deals - equating to 464,515 square feet of industrial, office and retail property sales and lettings.

To celebrate its 15-year milestone, founder Vanessa Penn and her team, along with clients and friends, headed off on a voyage along the River Orwell aboard historic sailing barge Victor on Friday, September 23. Ipswich-based Mariners provided complimentary catering.

Ms Penn thanked all those who had supported the business since its launch.

“The world is now a very different place from when we first started out, but the commercial property market continues to thrive, and we are ideally positioned to be able to match businesses up with their ideal premises," she said.

“Over the years, one of the key factors that has remained consistent is the need for exceptional customer service, which is what we at Penn pride ourselves upon, as an award-winning, smaller independent commercial property agent.”

The firm's notable successes include arranging the sale of The Maltings in Ipswich to Pertwee Estates, which carried out a multi-million pound refurbishment of the buildings - subsequently let as offices, disposing of the town's former's 130-acre British Sugar site and acquiring 60 acres at Orwell Crossing in Nacton to develop as Orwell Logistics Park.

Penn has a 10-strong workforce.