The Boatman

Leading London estate agent Wilfords has begun 2020 with a significant letting of a historic property in Paddington Basin. The Boatman’s Institute dates back to the 1800s and provides a fantastic fusion of old and new with a stylish contemporary interior and high-specification finishings. The home has been let on a long-term lease.

This dynamic start to the decade builds on a successful 2019 in which the Kensington stalwarts secured close to 150 lets, achieving a number of landmark deals and bucking the trend in the slower pre-Brexit market. The firm is also seeing a trend for tenants and landlords wanting longer-term comittments with several 24 month tenancies agreed already.

The Boatman’s Institute was built in 1827 and originally served as a meeting house and chapel for the operatives of long boats around the Grand Union Canal. The building has been renovated and restored to its former glory and is now an extraordinary four-bedroom home with breathtaking volume and exquisitely-confirgured interiors. The home boasts a cinema room which appealed to the new tenant, in addition to a high-specification kitchen, perfectly suited to Nigella Lawson who is understood to have once rented the home.

This exciting deal is one of the latest in a run of successes in the lettings department at Wilfords. The independent firm secured 148 lets in 2019 with many properties being agreed for asking price or above with minimal time on the market. Their biggest ticket deal was a £2,995 per week house on Courtnell Street, for which the team secured two asking price offers in the first few days of marketing. They also secured a record price on a two-bedroom apartment at 17 St Pancras Chambers, a historically-fascinating building in bustling Kings Cross.

The Wilfords team additionally let five apartments in a house the firm manages on Talbot Road. Each unit went at asking price or more within the first day of going live, with one property in the block letting before the decoration had been completed. The agent also handled a number of deals for high profile individuals who were keen to rent in the Kensington area.

The firm is currently working on an extensive and diverse portfolio, which includes two two-bedroom apartments priced at £2,300 per week, located at The Knightsbridge and  above the design musuem in Holland Green Place, Holland Park. Operating across the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and around Hyde Park the combined expertise of the team makes them perfectly placed to advise on the fast-paced market and excellent variety of properties available to those looking to rent in or around Kensington.

Simon Welfare, Co-Founder at Wilfords, comments, “It’s been a very exciting start to the year here and increasingly we are finding that properties are letting in record times, achieving or exceeding asking price. Our local knowledge and personalised approach to customer service has ensured multiple repeat clients.

“Our property management arm has also seen an upward trend with 40% of landlords using this service. We believe this more people are taking advantage of this opportunity to own a BTL property with minimal hassle in the light of further legislation being introduced.”

For further information on Wilfords’ letting offering, contact the team on Tel: 020 7361 0400 or visit: www.wilfords.com