The original Harrods Estates began in 1897, tucked away behind furnishings on the ground floor of the store. As the business expanded, it moved to new premises across the road in 1919, with its own property auction hall above.

During the 1930s, new branches opened in Haslemere, Manchester, Berkhamsted, Cheltenham, Monte Carlo and Le Touquet. But when disaster struck in 1944, with the Knightsbridge office receiving a direct hit from a V1 “Doodlebug” rocket, the building was sadly demolished. Incredibly, nearly 300,000 packets of papers were retrieved from the rubble and Harrods Estates continued trading in temporary accommodation without missing a day of work.

By 1952, Harrods Estates had around 76 employees, which by this time had departments for Town, Country and Business, plus, surveyors and management, furniture and property auctions and valuations.

Over the next 35 years, the head office was split between Basil Street in Knightsbridge and Park Lane, before later returning to its namesake store.

In 2001, Harrods Estates took over a new address on Brompton Road – just yards away from its original premises in 1919 and now directly opposite Harrods.

Natural growth has seen Harrods Estates open –another branch on Park Lane in Mayfair. This expansion has enabled the long-established agency to spread its wonderful wings over the prime and prestigious postcodes of London, gaining access to the coveted icing-white townhouses and magnificent mansions of Mayfair, Marylebone, Regents Park, St Johns Wood and St James’s.

History of Harrods Estates