THE PHILIP MARLOW OF LONDON PROPERTY

David Rosen loves wandering around London. A Londoner, born and bred, it is his love of design and architecture and London’s multiplicity of styles that have formed the basis of his career in property.

As senior partner in the estate agency firm of Pilcher Hershman, he has been instrumental in restoring and regenerating some of the now key centres in the capital. And from  his base in Savile Row, he emphasises the bespoke aspect of the company’s policy, working closely with clients, developers, architects and designers to tailor properties to requirements.

“I decided to take Pilcher Hershman down the bespoke path,” he explains, “and we now occupy a niche position, advising clients, finding the right sort of buildings for them, working with developers to create the right sort of designs for the end use.  And then when you get the right sort of clients into a building, others will follow.”

He has a particular talent for spotting unloved old buildings and resurrecting them into contemporary beacons. The Metropolitan Wharf in Wapping is a case in point, the Royal Mail sorting office in Victoria another.

“There is constant change,” he points out, “and I’m always out, looking at buildings, finding neglected places. I’m the Phillip Marlowe of the property world.”

It was Rosen who spotted the potential of the former Lipton Tea Building in Shoreditch, bringing in the Mother ad agency and spearheading a transformation of the area; Rosen who brought Charles Saatchi to the old Duke of York headquarters in Kings Road; Rosen who played a waiting game for the former British Legion poppy factory in Kings Cross, now the imposing York Central.

His client list reads like a Who’s Who of  London’s art, design and music circles, just as his buildings around London represent a roll call of today’s  creative centres. And such is the esteem in which he is held that he has been made an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

At top, Rosen in John Pearse's shop; above, the former Duke of York barracks now the Saatchi Gallery; below Rosen with Pearse's assistant, Dominic.

Rosen joined a small firm of estate agents in London’s West End as his first step on the ladder of success when he left school. He moved to Pilcher Hershman still in his teens and has worked there ever since, succeeding two older partners and making it the agency of choice for those in the creative world who seek a simpatico service.

“I grew up with The Face and Blueprint magazines,”he says. “and I suppose you could say I’m a blueprint of those two magazines. I found them their premises and we grew up together. I’ve always been interested in style.”

As a young Londoner in the 70s, he was a Mod, with the sharp, neat clothing style that demanded. His father took him to tailor Sam Arkus in Stamford Hill, who moved to Soho’s Berwick Street and became the tailor of choice for many other Mods.

“It was a good start,” says Rosen. “Everybody was in a suit, there was the ‘Man from Uncle influence’. I suppose I was aware of Savile Row but we couldn’t afford it. If you were working class, you wanted to look smart, not beatnik. Sam was the original Mod tailor.”

Later, he found John Pearse, also in Soho, and has remained loyal to him over some 25 years, whilst enjoying trying other Savile Row tailors occasionally.

“I have so many of his suits and they stay in style and never wear out. I love this one (a soft tweed) and I’ve got cords in every colour. I certainly don’t wear a suit all the time. I’ll quite often be dressed in what might be called ‘dressed down Friday’ style, but then I’ve enjoyed going along to meetings where everyone else is dressed quite casually and they are expecting me to be also, and I arrive wearing a suit, shirt and tie. I like that,” he says with a grin.

He is currently working on a clutch of projects, residential and commercial, and is looking for new tenants for the building in Burlington Gardens at the end of Savile Row, owned by the Royal Academy. Another just completed transaction will see the opening this Spring of the BlairSouthern gallery in the corner of Hanover Square, opposite Vogue House.

The art world is close to his heart – he collects contemporary works and has some fine examples in his Row office. “I suppose I started out wanting to be a painter,” he says.

“I was brought up in Maida Vale and still live there, with my wife and 12 year old son. I love it. Work does take up much of my time but no, I’m not a workaholic. I enjoy it too much, it isn’t really work.”

Any remaining aims? “I’d like to be able to play the guitar better,” he admits wryly. “Music is my first love.”