Knight Frank
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (November 2012) |
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Estate agents |
| Founded | 1896 as Knight, Frank & Rutley |
| Founder | John Knight Howard Frank William Rutley |
| Headquarters | 55 Baker Street, London, England |
| Key people | William Beardmore-Gray (senior partner & chairman) |
| Products | Residential and commercial property services |
Number of employees | +20,000 (2025) |
| Website | www |
Knight Frank LLP is a global real estate consultancy and estate agency headquartered in London, England.
Knight Frank has approximately 600 offices[1] along with 20,000 people managing commercial, agricultural and residential real estate worth approximately US$817 billion (£498 billion).[2]
History
[edit]Knight, Frank & Rutley is an earlier name of the firm. Howard Frank was an English estate agent, headed of the firms of Knight, Frank & Rutley of London and Walton & Lee of Edinburgh and was president of the Estate Agents' Institute from 1912 to 1914.
- 1896: The firm is founded in London by John Knight, Howard Frank and William Rutley.[3]
- 1897: The first recorded business property sale occurs in November, when Knight, Frank & Rutley sells a ‘cycle machinery and plant’ business in Battersea for £270 11s 6d.
- 1911: The Crystal Palace is sold to Lord Plymouth for £210,000.[4]
- 1914: Howard Frank, the senior partner, is knighted.
- 1915: Cecil Chubb buys Stonehenge through Knight, Frank & Rutley for £6,600. Mr. & Mrs. Chubb gave it "to the Nation" three years later.
- 1922: The firm handles the sale of Winston Churchill's house and sells Chartwell to him.
- 1924: Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster sells Grosvenor House in Park Lane through Knight, Frank & Rutley.
- 1927: The firm advises on the site assembly for the BBC's headquarters, Broadcasting House in London.
- 1937: Most of the town of Lytham St Annes in Lancashire is sold – including the celebrated golf course.
- 1974: Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire, dating back to 1132, is sold for £1 million.
- 1981: In New York, Douglas Elliman Knight Frank sells Pan-American World Airways Intercontinental Hotels Corporation to Grand Metropolitan for $500 million.
- 1996: On 1 January, ‘Rutley’ is dropped from the Knight Frank name as part of a plan to expand international market share.
- 2000: Knight Frank sells the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, London, on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.[5]
- 2005: The firm is appointed to advise on the development of the London Olympic Village for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
- 2006: With effect from 1 January, Knight Frank establishes a global real estate partnership with leading New York-based real estate service firm Newmark Knight Frank, formerly Newmark.
- 2012: February, presents Battersea Power Station to the global property market.[6][7]
- 2013: Participated in the founding of OnTheMarket[8]
- 2015: Knight Frank wins the instruction to sell 231 prime residential units within the Royal Atlantis on the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.[9]
- 2021: Rennie Property joined Knight Frank’s global network.[10]
- 2026: sold Ayton Castle to comedian, Alan Carr [11]
References
[edit]- ↑ Norman, Paul (December 9, 2025). "Knight Frank appoints new senior partner and group chair".
- ↑ "Deals Competition | Most active agent | EGi". Estates Gazette. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
- ↑ "Our History". Knight Frank. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ↑ The Crystal Palace - Knight Frank and Rutley Sale Catalogue 1911 Crystal Palace Foundation Shop Archived April 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Prices in central London set to rocket, says Knight Frank". estateagenttoday.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
- ↑ "Knight Frank". Search.knightfrank.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
- ↑ "Battersea Power Station in London on sale". BBC News. 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
- ↑ White, Anna (22 November 2014). "Estate agent wars could make it harder to sell your home". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ↑ "The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences will open with a record-breaking 90 swimming pools". DOTWNews. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- ↑ "More about Rennie Property". www.rennieproperty.co.za. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ↑ Giancarlo Rinaldi, BBC, 27 February 2026 Inside the £3.25m castle bought by Celebrity Traitors winner Alan Carr
