Our History

Pembridge Mews

Mews homes are found in quiet, often cobbled, flower filled side streets of central London. Uniquely they provide an oasis of country village living in the centre of London.

Now much sought after, it hasn’t always been the case as founder Antoine Lurot remembers. “In the 1960’s and 1970’s mews were hugely undervalued, although being located in the very best part of town they were often run down, scruffy and in danger of being bulldozed.”

As a rally driving racer, Antoine became familiar with mews as so many of his friends such as James Hunt and John Surtees housed their cars in a mews garage and lived in the accommodation above the garage. It was then that he identified the potential of these homes, the genesis of which was first recorded in 1537 as Henry VIII’s stables.

Queen's Gate Place Mews - 1979
Antoine became a successful rally driver, becoming friends with racing legends such as John Surtees and James Hunt.

Passionate about these distinct, individual properties, Antoine set up an estate agency in 1971 and photographed and documented 800 central London mews. The first properties he sold were £15,000. Today typically a mews home of 1200 sq ft will sell for £2,500,000.

Lurot Brand is the only estate agency that solely deals with mews homes. Despite being asked to deal with other types of home, we long ago decided to specialise in mews – the homes that are not only our passion, but also the core of our expertise.

Antoine’s first step was to get to know his ‘patch’ by visiting every single mews in London on his Honda motorbike. He took photos and documented more than 800 streets, building up an unrivalled knowledge and expertise which became the foundation of Lurot Brands mews directory.