Ian Fraser, Tom Wright and James Holness of Winkworth tell us what makes London’s East End and emerging residential hotspot. Natasha Higgins reports. 

‘City Fringe’ is the word as Tom Wright, Manager of New Homes and Investments for Winkworth will tell you. London’s East End, once synonymous with leather shops, market stalls and curry houses, is suddenly taking an upward turn, quite literally, with tall towers and smaller new developments popping up everywhere. 

“Aldgate, Whitechapel – with the planned arrival of the Crossrail – and Hoxton are all key areas within walking distance of the City that developers are investing in,” explains Wright. “There’s already been huge interest from overseas investors in the likes of Goodmans Fields, One Commercial Street, Avant-Guard Tower, and the smaller schemes we have, Commercial Road for example.” 

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The New Homes and Investments department is a recent addition to Winkworth’s strings and one that looks set to grow rapidly: “The speed at which the regeneration is happening means the area is developing at a tremendous pace,” says Ian Fraser, Director of Winkworth, Shoreditch. “Even in the last year, it’s astonishing to see the amount of new builds in the area. Affluent people are settling in and existing stock is being bought by people who will renovate and transform it”.

Ian joined Winkworth 11 years ago and also owns franchises of the brand in Highbury and Islington. He purchased the Shoreditch office in October last year when he realised there was a significant crossover between the three areas: “On my first day of trading at our Shoreditch branch, I had a rental client who’d come to see me in Islington and we were able to find her a flat in Shoreditch”.

“The beauty of Winkworth as a brand is that we have more offices than any other estate agency in London – a total of 61 – and opportunities to expand further.” As well as the Shoreditch office, they have offices in Clerkenwell, Hackney and Bow with which they are in close contact. The New Homes and Investments division is also backed by head office who have a China desk and intend to expand. 

Ian acknowledges that stock levels are being squeezed all over London, that prices are going up and sellers are holding on: “We recently had eight sealed bids on a property – all over asking price!” he exclaims. This is clearly part of the reason why he feels east London will offer something new to the market: “There’s baron land, factories and warehouses all around here waiting to be developed”.

Some of the new development projects in the area that Winkworth is involved in include Shoreditch Park and Forest Gate: “Shoreditch Park is an area on the peripheries of Hoxton and a walk away from the City. The planned development consists of four 2,500 sq ft townhouses with original period facades and ultra modern spec overlooking the park,” explains Tom.  “They will be priced between £650 and £700 per square foot and should be ready by November 2014. It’s a new concept for the area offering unique and bespoke houses”. 

“The Forest Gate development is a different idea – it’s an old disused factory site and the plan is to turn it into seven separate units. Our site is undergoing feasibility testing with proposed plans for a mixed use scheme. A proposed master plan has been submitted for the regeneration of Forest Gate Town Centre, Woodgrange Road, Earlham Grove and Sprowsten Road incorporating approximately 850 new homes to the area. Forest Gate is an area developers are keen to move into and the project has already had interest from overseas investors.” 

Wright describes his position as ‘challenging and a learning curve’. He is often on site and in discussions with architects, surveyors and developers valuing proposed units  – ‘in effect, offering a development consultancy package’: “With four new developments in the pipeline – some of which I can’t yet talk about, these are exciting times,” he states. 

The lettings side of the business is headed up by James Holness who’s worked in the industry for 16 years and has always been London based. He believes Shoreditch and east London are areas with ‘huge potential’. 

“Across London at present there is generally more rental stock available then there is demand for. In turn, this has meant tenants have been looking for the best property in terms of value for money. However, as the summer has come round, we’ve experienced a record number of tenants registering and the market has shifted in favour of landlords. This is usually the case between the months of July to October especially that the area attracts many overseas students starting courses as well as young professionals.

“Most in demand are one to two bedroom modern flats that rent for between £350 and £450 per week,” concludes Holness.