Multi-lingual agents more essential than ever

The influx of a broad range of overseas purchasers, property investors and tenants into central London has made multi-lingual offices a pre-requisite for any serious estate agent.

Winkworth’s central London offices are no exception; its St John’s Wood, South Kensington, West End and Knightsbridge & Chelsea offices, for instance, between them comprise staff fluent in over 15 different languages.

London is a natural home for overseas purchasers looking for a safe investment in a stable economy and a location which enables businesspeople to communicate with both New York and Tokyo in the same day.

London’s schools and universities and international academies also encourage investors to buy homes for their children to live in while they study (and while capital values accrue). Heathrow airport, the third busiest in the world, also promotes investment from foreign nationals. It is, then, little wonder that London draws in a globally diverse mix of nationalities. In the last 15 years, St John’s Wood and its environs has seen some notable demographic changes that have stretched the linguistic resources of its long established office. Franchisee, Richard Woolf, says: “Over the past 25 years or so, we have seen influxes of buyers and tenants from Arabia, Nigeria, Iran, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, central Europe and Russia.

Families from all over the world are attracted to St John’s Wood’s delightful residential nature and easy transport links to the City and Docklands.

Our staff certainly reflect the international appeal of London and the office currently includes Arabic, Spanish, Greek, French, German and Hindi speakers.” South Kensington boasts a very popular French speaking primary school - The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle - attracting high-earning French families. Again, its proximity to the City and the various international financial and professional service institutions therein has increased the number of foreign buyers and renters. Winkworth’s South Kensington office includes French, Spanish, Swedish, Mauritian, Russian, Ukrainian, Italian and Armenian speakers. The benefits of a multi-lingual team are obvious.

James Moran of Winkworth South Kensington says: “On a practical level, for clients, being able to speak to someone fluent in one’s first language is immensely helpful. Communication of trust, so essential when dealing with large transactions, becomes far easier without a language barrier.” Charles Peerless, owner of Winkworth franchises in, Clerkenwell & City, Knightsbridge & Chelsea and the West End, employs staff fluent in French, Portuguese, Nigerian, Singaporean and Cantonese. As a response to further demands, Charles is looking to add a Russian speaker to that list in the near future.

Dominic Agace, managing director of Winkworth, says: “With the growing strength of the City as a leading global financial centre, and with it the subsequent wealth generation, central London has the facilities to make it a must have property location on an international scale for the World’s affluent. We have seen a continuing increase in the number of international buyers looking for homes, and investments across our central London offices, and this has been reflected in the growing diversity of languages spoken in day-to-day dealings with clients improving the communication, and so the service, that Winkworth offices can provide sellers and buyers.”