Birmingham residential sales and letting agency York Laurent has opened a second office in the city centre at The Arcadian Centre, Hurst Street, and appointed four new members of staff to its team.
York Laurent has been established in the Jewellery Quarter since 1998, and is a thriving sales, letting and UK property management business with a growing commercial property consultancy.
Co-founder and director Marcel Woodhouse said a booming lettings market and ambitions to serve New Street, Eastside and the Digbeth areas of the city had prompted the expansion.
He said: “Our Hurst Street office is more readily placed to serve landlords and tenants in a wide variety of developments including Southside, Latitude, Rotunda, I-land and Mailbox. It’s also an exciting time for this area of the city, with new schemes such as The Cube coming on line, the redevelopment of New Street Station and exciting proposals to expand mixed-use and residential development in the Digbeth and Eastside areas.”
Business has been brisk at the firm, which has added to its staff roll during the recession and now employs 16. Mr Woodhouse said: “It’s no secret that housing sales have dipped during the last two years, although we are starting to see signs that this is picking up: we have agreed five sales in the last two weeks alone.
In contrast, the lettings market is booming as potential buyers struggle to save a larger deposit to get a mortgage. We are able to let properties that come onto our books within 5-7 days of instruction; such is the demand for rented accommodation.”
The new Hurst Street team includes office manager Tia Begum-Bowers, negotiators Samantha Shaw and Selina She – a Chinese speaker who deals with the firm’s growing Chinese client base – and Dani Grieveson, who handles luxury home sales in Edgbaston.
York Laurent has made a substantial financial commitment in its new office. The bespoke interior designed space boasts the latest visual and IT technologies.