Since our humble beginnings back in 1987 we've watched the
West End property market steadily increase in activity. And
over our 20 years in operation we've observed the West End neighbourhoods
of Soho, Covent Garden, Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury and Marylebone
grow, each developing individual idiosyncrasies and attracting
their own niche market.
During this time we've built up an extensive base of clients
who keep coming back because there are no other local west end
agents with the depth, knowledge and track record that we have.
This is the essence of our personalised and professional approach
which greatly distinguishes us from our competitors, making
us stand out in the crowd as the showcase estate agent. So to
commemorate and celebrate LDG's flourishing evolution we're
taking a trip down memory lane…
PAST: LDG have operated as a unique
bespoke estate agent tailor-made for selling and letting
residential properties in the central nerve of London's
West End, for over 20 years.
PRESENT: As the warm months approach
so the need for West End tenants increases. We are aware
that the run up to summer is an important time for West
End landlords, with the influx of visitors, including
students and those employees being transferred from other
countries, in special need of a central London place of
residency.
Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury are incredibly
popular areas for short and long term property lettings,
and the huge market demand needs to be taken advantage
of. To accommodate this growing need LDG estate agents
is presently expanded its Central London property lettings
department
. FUTURE: Our clientele are long-standing and they
keep coming back to LDG estate agents largely by virtue
of our proven West End property track record and continued
personal recommendation by satisfied property patrons.
We have a deeper client base than most other West End
estate and lettings agents, and we aim to continue to
build strong business relationships in the future through
our select personal service and with communication and
personality being foremost in our minds.
In The Market - Record Sales Continue
The New Year and spring has seen continual growth in the property
market, with locations such as Lizmans House, Bedford Street,
Goodge Street, Chenies Mews and Lamb's Conduit Street all achieving
record prices.
With our 20 years experience we believe that, should interest
rates increase, the actual value of West End properties will
not be significantly affected or decline. We have encountered
several negotiations where contracts have gone to sealed bids
- a custom which was once a rarity but is now common practice.
As always LDG's West End properties are consistently interesting
and varied, despite the current shortage.
Deposits protected with LDG!
Conforming to new government legislation LDG are participating
in the deposit protection scheme (DPS).
The scheme safeguards the tenant's deposit in cases where there
are disputes relating to damage, costs or charges incurred during
the tenancy.
Call LDG lettings advisors Tony or Javier on 020 7580 1010
for further information.
LDG The Property Finders
Consider LDg's professional West End property advice.
Too busy to constantly search for a flat? Avoid missing out
on that ideal property or feeling frustrated that the best places
go before they go online!
Retaining LDG to act on your behalf:
Take the stress and the time-consuming factors out of your
property search.
We source and vet properties for you throughout the West
End.
With vast experience we are able to find properties 'off'
market.
Take advantage of this additional service. Call partners Laurence
Glynne or Clare Moll: 020 7580 1010.
Spooks comes to Fitzrovia
Popular British television spy series Spooks recently shot
on location in Fitzrovia at Candy & Candy's Middlesex Hospital
development on Mortimer Street and at the LDG offices at 39
Foley Street.
West End: Past, Present and Future
With 20 years experience and a wealth of West End knowledge,
we've witnessed many changes over the past two decades, in both
the local property market and our own personal growth as central
London's bespoke estate agent. Mobile phones were the size of
bricks when it all began back in January 1987 and Clare Moll
left her life as an opera singer to join forces with Laurence
Glynn and found LDG.
Originally established at 57 Queen Anne Street, LDG resided
there until 1989 before moving to the nearby 70 Marylebone Lane
location until 1995. 50 South Molten Street was home until 2001,
and then in 2002 we relocated to our current corner at 39 Foley
Street, Fitzrovia.
Over the years LDG's opinion has been sought by various prestigious
publications including The Telegraph and Home and Property,
with several featured articles personally penned by partner
Laurence Glynn. We are also regularly requested for our opinion
by LBC and various London radio stations, and have featured
in television interviews and all aspects of the media. We have
an extensive client base which includes celebrities, royals,
property developers and investors, and much of our business
is by personal recommendation.
What's On This Spring in Soho and Covent Garden?
PINK PARADE
London's massive annual Gay Pride Parade will start at 13.00
on Saturday 30th June in Oxford Street by Selfridges. The flamboyant
and colourful carnival will continue down Regent Street toward
Trafalgar Square, before culminating at Victoria Embankment.
SUMMER AT THE ACADEMY
The Royal Academy's annual Summer Exhibition takes place from
11th June to 19th August 2007. The world's largest open submission
contemporary art exhibition showcases work by unknown and emerging
artists alongside that of more established names. The Summer
Exhibition attracts about 9,000 paintings, sculptures, photographs,
drawings, prints and architectural models.
REVELRY ON REGENT STREET
Regent Street's events have a truly international flavour in
2007 with a Spanish month planned for June with in-store promotions,
wine tasting, dance displays and live music. The party spirit
will continue through to July with al fresco dining on Heddon
Street (Regent Street's food quarter) and live DJ nights twice
weekly planned to entertain you on balmy summer evenings.
Soho Shorts
The Rushes Soho Shorts Festival 2007 will run from 28th July
to 3rd August at venues in and around the West End. The not-for-profit
film festival is well known for its championing of emerging
young talent.
This year it sees the addition of a Documentary category, complementing
the five original categories: Short Film, Newcomer, Title Sequences
& Idents, Music Video and Animation.
Soho and Covent Garden Focus
In the 17th century they were worlds apart: one a hunting ground
for London's aristocracy; the other a farmers market. Times
haven't changed a lot in almost 400 years. Even now you're bound
to pass the odd queen in Soho; while Covent Garden's Italian-style
piazza has long been a hive of activity.
These two eclectic districts of the capital still draw a diverse
populous to their pulsating pavements. Soho's narrow mosaic
of streets and hidden alleyways are the epitome of London cool,
where artists, tailors, media workers and musicians collide,
allured by the area's creative, edgy nature.
And while soulful Soho is synonymous with style, Covent Garden's
leafy quarter is a cosmopolitan village of culture and colour.
Crowds of tourists, theatre-goers, caffeine junkies and market
traders pack themselves into 'Theatreland' each day, where the
area prides itself on being the nurturer of the newly renovated
Royal Opera House and a string of prestigious theatres.
These vibrant neighbourhoods, however, have never lost their
hardy residential community. Property is at a premium and everything
is within an easy stroll of the sights. Those that can afford
to live in Soho and Covent Garden have the West End and all
that it offers right on their doorstep, including über-trendy
clothing stores, funky jazz clubs, cutting-edge production houses
and a throng of bars, pubs, open-air cafés, restaurants,
cinemas, theatres and art galleries.
Well-served by public transport, Soho has set the trend for
London loft living. A large cross-section of potential tenants,
from celebrities to city high-flyers, are moving into prominent
locations (such as Wardour Street's Soho Lofts and above the
Soho Theatre) as well as the quieter back streets.
Hidden away in Covent Garden are fabulous innovative penthouses
with roof terraces and converted period buildings in quaint
streets. Easy to navigate and with a consistently strong rental
market, the area is within close proximity to The City offering
convenient access to London's financial district.
Did You Know?
In Tudor times Soho was a hunting ground of open fields
and duck ponds, hence the name 'Soho' which derives from
an old hunting call
Covent Garden was established on the site of the Abbot
of Westminster's convent garden, from which the area's name
originates
Only when the City of London in the east became too crowded,
after the Great Fire of 1666, did Soho become residential
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, was established in 1660
and is the oldest theatre in Covent Garden
Frith Street in Soho is where John Logie Baird first demonstrated
television
Alfred Hitchcock's 1972 film, Frenzy, takes place amongst
the pubs and fruit markets of Covent Garden
The piano was played for the first time in public at the
Royal Opera House in 1767
Soho Gold
Goldbeaters House, the former home of the founders of Foyles
of Soho and entertainer Danny La Rue, is currently available
to rent. This recently refurbished two bedroom and two bathroom
apartment boasts a private decked terrace and conservatory.
LDG's Platinum Competition Winners
The correct answers were as follows:
Richmond Mews which is in Soho
Paramount Court which is in Bloomsbury Bloomsbury
Harlequin Court in Covent Garden
West One House which is in Fitzrovia
Three lucky Local winners received Charles Heidsieck champagne
gift packs for their correct answers. The winners were: Dr Yvonne
Craig, Mr Greg Appleby and Maurice ?
Fitzrovia:
Colville Place, W1T
Lined with charming houses all graced by ornamental stone pots
and urns filled with greenery, this secluded Georgian court
of about 1765 links Charlotte and Whitfield Streets and was
laid out by a carpenter named John Colville. Today its grassy
picnic area is packed in the summer months by West End workers
soaking up the sun, or shoppers seeking a place of quiet repose
from nearby Tottenham Court Road. Rarely do properties come
on the market in this picturesque passageway. The last to do
so sold for £1.2 million, and today it would easily exceed
this value.
Middleton Place, W1W
This quaint and quiet pedestrianised thoroughfare is neatly
tucked away between Great Titchfield and Great Portland Streets
in the heart of enchanting Fitzrovia: an area which is being
hailed as 'the new Notting Hill'. Lying just off Langham and
Riding House Streets, Middleton Place is characterised by attractive,
Georgian townhouses overlooked at its Langham Street entrance
by the charming Victorian tavern The Yorkshire Grey. A three
bedroom house has been on the market recently for £1.4
mill.
Soho:
Meard Street, W1F
Boasting beautiful Queen Anne houses, shops and York flag stones,
Meard Street is one of Soho's most sought after real estates.
Connecting Wardour Street to Dean Street this paved semi-pedestrianised
thoroughfare is perhaps the best place in Soho to admire Georgian
architecture. There is ongoing debate over the origins of the
street's name, with some suggesting the passageway was once
a sewer, while others claiming it was named after John Meard,
a carpenter responsible for building and developing the area.
LDG has, over the past 20 years, sold more properties here than
any other local agent and is continually achieving record sale
prices.
Silver Place, W1F
This lesser-known little cutting will take you from Soho's
Lexington Street to Ingestre Place and is characterised by boutique
shops and residential apartments. It's a rather anonymous alleyway
which seems to evade the attentions of the usual reference books.
To the south-east corner stands Pargiter Court: a residential
block now used as retirement flats. There is no documented reason
why it's called Silver Place, but the street it leads off, Beak
Street, was once named Silver Street, which incidentally runs
parallel to Golden Square. A one bedroom flat 3 years ago on
market for £375,000.
Covent Garden:
Broad Court, WC2B
Peering between Drury Lane and Bow Street the suitably named
Broad Court replaced in 1745 what was once the cramped and narrow
Red Lion Court. This historic pedestrian precinct is now a refined
avenue of stone flag paving, 19th century gas lamps and an assortment
of potted bushes. Here you will find the soon-to-be refurbished
Fielding Hotel, and in a narrow tributary off the Court is the
Sun Tavern, a pleasant little haunt with tables set out just
before the passage emerges through an archway into Long Acre.
The predominantly Victorian mansion flats found here are priced
at around £515
New Row, WC2N
Right in the heart of London, where theatres, galleries, museums
and restaurants are all on the door step, is New Row: a convenient
little cut-through which will take you from St Martin's Lane
to King Street and on to Covent Garden's popular Piazza. This
secluded semi-pedestrianised street is lined with a combination
of Georgian and Victorian houses, and has a villagey feel with
a number of listed buildings, cafés and boutique shops
lining its quaint through fare.
Bloomsbury:
Duke's Road / Woburn Walk, WC1H
Bordering King's Cross and Bloomsbury, Duke's Road and Woburn
Walk are hidden treasures in this highly sought-after West End
location. Woburn Walk, which leads from Upper Woburn Place to
Duke's Road, is a Dickensian walkway in the northern end of
Bloomsbury which features beautifully preserved bow-fronted
buildings that were built by the architect Thomas Cubitt in
1822. The small street is home to many restaurants, bookshops
and galleries and offers a pleasant retreat from the noise and
traffic of nearby Euston Road.
Lamb's Conduit Street, WC1N
Lamb's Conduit Street was named after a William Lamb, a gentleman
of the Chapel Royal under Henry VIII who, at his own expense,
drew several springs into a conduit in the street. Leading from
the entrance to the Foundling Hospital into Red Lion Street,
High Holborn, it is known today for its independent retailers
and community spirit which give the street such character. Another
LDG specialist street, Lamb's Conduit recently achieved a record
price with a maisonette reaching in excess of £1.75 million.
As members of the National Association of
Estate Agents, Association of Residential Letting Agents and
the Estate Agents Ombudsman Scheme, you can be assured of
the highest standards of professionalism at all times
