Edward Albert Shaw founded EA Shaw & Partners, and remained the senior Partner until 1940.
1920s - EA Shaw formed a business alliance with Frank Matcham, a renowned theatre designer who, during the theatre building boom of the late 19th century, designed iconic London theatres including the Hippodrome and the Colisseum.
Charles Spagnoletti, nephew of Edward Shaw, and nicknamed ‘the Godfather’ by the local market traders, took over as Senior Partner. The firm was based in Mart Street, a road that has since been knocked down to make way for the rear buildings of the Royal Opera House.
1970s - EA Shaw moved away from acting for the market traders on small transactions, to working for landlords, including the Covent Garden Market Authority, who ran the trading space in the Piazza. EA Shaw began work on assembling island sites in Covent Garden, purchasing large blocks for investors. Large swathes of Henrietta Street and Maiden Lane were purchased for NPI, and blocks in what is now the Opera Quarter (Russell St, Tavistock St, Catherine St) were bought for Patrick Vaughan, who later merged with Standard Life.
Over one weekend, the Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market moved to New Covent Garden, leaving the area deserted. Monday morning was like a ghost town! Proposals were drawn up to knock down the existing buildings, to make space for modern civic centres and amenities. Luckily, a public outcry meant the historic buildings were preserved, and in 1980 the Piazza reopened as a shopping centre.
1976 - Bill Ivens took over as Senior Partner, ending almost 80 years of the business being run by one family. EA Shaw moved to new premises at 19-20 Bow Street.
EA Shaw expanded in the Southbank, working on the redevelopment of the areas around Butlers Wharf, Rotherhithe and Wapping. EA Shaw became the agent of choice for commercial and residential developments in the area during this time.
1989 - EA Shaw completed the largest letting in the area in its history to Coopers Lybrand (now PwC) at Embankment Place, over Charing Cross station, on 200,000 sq ft of space.
2000 - EA Shaw began to branch out into work in Soho, Fitzrovia, and Midtown, and moved offices to the other side of Bow Street, where they still are now.
Nick Bark and the management team joined EA Shaw, bringing with them the company's biggest managemnent instruction: the property management of Carnaby and Seven Dials villages for Shaftesbury PLC.
EA Shaw brokered the sale of the Covent Garden Piazza to Capital and Counties, for £450m.
In 2011, EA Shaw won the mandate to manage the residential portfolio for Soho Estates, one of the premier landlords in the Soho area. We also worked on St Martin's Courtyard, a brand new mixed use development in the heart of Covent Garden. Also for the first time, the residential sales teams took flats out to Singapore to sell properties off-plan to overseas investors.
Present day - EA Shaw remains firmly rooted in Covent Garden, but has expanded its sights to operate across the whole of central London, taking our passion for buildings and over a hundred years of experience to a wider audience.
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