'Family Values'.

Meet the Edwards family, owners of Imperial Properties.

In a saturated real estate industry, what makes an agency stand out from the crowd?

What makes 350 people attend the opening of a detrained office just to say hello to the owners, and what allows the whole family to be successful? I traveled to Imperial Properties in Santa Ponsa to find out.

Walking into the newly renovated two-story office on Avinguda del Rei Jaume I, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I soon found myself in a conference room with the Edwards family. Mom and Dad, Sian and Paul, and their grown children, Portier, Georgia, Marnie, Lola and Mason, as well as Imperial Properties sales manager Mark Ratcliffe. Already the presence of a Welsh accent,''Some stronger than others filled the air as they sat down, offered coffee and water, and we began. The newly renovated office in Santa Ponsa.

What brought you to this island.

Sian: Paul and I have known each other since we were kids. We've been coming here on vacation for a long time. We used to go to Cala d'\'Or for half term and summer vacations and I always cried when we had to leave. Flights from Cardiff to Mallorca made it very easy for us. I'm not going to lie, I love Cardiff, but I wanted more. I love the sunshine and I knew this island was extremely family friendly. So we moved here when Lola was just a few months old, Marnie was 3, Mason was 6, Georgia was 9 and Portier was 10.

How easy it was for you'''adapt?

Sian: We were advised to send the children straight to Spanish school, which is exactly what we did. The support was amazing, they helped us with the language and the arrangement. The UK National Health Service told me that Lola, our youngest daughter, had a very poor tolerance for food and they advised me to completely eliminate problem foods from her diet, but the Spanish doctors took a completely different approach and gradually they got her used to those foods. So at seven years old she was eating them! If we had done as the British doctors advised, she wouldn't have even touched those foods until she was twelve. The medical care we received in the Spanish system was really amazing. We have a lot of happy ones''Memories of the children growing up and the fiestas we went to with other members of the local community. I remember taking them to the St. Anthony's celebrations one day and they all sat around a bonfire and made miniature bonfires which they then set on fire! That's something you don't see in the UK, I love it!

And of course, all the children speak three languages, right?

Sian: Yes. Mason, who works as a property manager, is about to become a father with a Spanish girlfriend, he says he even dreams in Spanish.

So no regrets at all about''moving?

Sian: Absolutely. We share our moving experiences with our clients. They find it very helpful to talk to us about moving to Mallorca and how we handled the transition. We have had such a positive experience and we are very happy to give them advice about life in Mallorca. We all love living here. I know that sometimes when I talk about living here, people who are thinking about moving make the decision to move.

The office on Avinguda del Rei Jaume I in Santa Ponsa.

How did you all come to work together?

Paul: When I first came to the island, I worked at Engel and Volkers real estate agency. I then joined Imperial Properties in 2008 and became an owner in 2011. Imperial Properties has been in business since 1985, so it's about to be our 40th anniversary! When''The girls grew up and graduated from high school, I asked them to work in the office as a summer secretary to see if they liked it or not. And all of them have had careers in the office, from assistant manager to their current positions. For example, Georgia just finished training to join API, the Spanish Association of Real Estate Agents in the Balearic Islands, and we will also be joining ABINI, the Balearic Association of National and International Real Estate Companies that works with international clients. We are preparing for the upcoming laws that will come into effect to regulate real estate on the island. Each of my daughters has contributed a lot of energy and ideas to the business, I would say that thanks to them we have the best connections with other agents on the island and''Island society as a whole. Their generation is doing business differently, which means we have more opportunities now than ever before. They are all business partners, so they are invested in our shared success.

What do you think of the proposal to restrict the sale of real estate to non-residents of the island?

Mark: It's completely contrary to business. Every resident will suffer if this happens. I have been coming to Mallorca since 1969 and it has been my home for a long time. I know, like many other people, that visitors to the island and second home owners are important to the economy. Without these people we will go back to selling potatoes! Paul: Even the municipal council workers who painted the streetlights needed a drink! You can find them online www.imperial-properties.com At Imperial Properties main office''is located in Santa Ponsa and also has offices in Palmanova and Portals Nous. They mainly work with real estate in the southwest of the island.