Our Story
Meet the founders
We’re the husband-and-wife team behind arley. Between us, we blend two decades of London property expertise with exceptional project and marketing know-how and a family-first approach that keeps our service personal and considered from start to finish.
James
Director of Sales & Lettings
James began his property career on the Devon coast, where a natural ability to connect with people and a genuine passion for homes quickly set him apart. Determined to succeed in London, he moved to Islington, started on Upper Street and rose to Sales Director by 26.
His success led him to senior leadership roles at some of the UK’s most prestigious agencies, including Head of Sales for Knight Frank in Islington and later running two offices as Head of Sales for Savills covering Victoria Park & Hackney. He has won multiple company awards, broken office records, and led teams to No.1 market share in their areas.
Having seen first‑hand how stressful moving can be and seeing a shift in the industry and people’s expectations, James set out to create a better way to service his clients. A personalised end-to-end service that is built on strategic insight, local knowledge and a results‑driven approach.
Emma
Director of Marketing & Operations
Emma began her career in fashion, working in digital marketing for the likes of Jaeger and Burberry. She moved across to Project Management at ASOS, her organisational strengths and people skills quickly stood out as something that came naturally to her, even under intense pressure.
After 3 years and eager for a new challenge, she joined Jellyfish, a fast‑paced digital agency, where she worked her way up to Project Director. On a day-to-day basis, Emma worked with media, creative, content, social and strategy teams and delivered everything from large global brand campaigns to small social activations.
Today, Emma runs the operational backbone of arley, administration, marketing and the smooth day‑to‑day that keeps everything on track.
A little bit about our family
At the end of 2022, we welcomed our first son, Arthur, and not long after, at the end of 2024, his brother Finley arrived and completed our family. The boys flipped our world upside down in the best way, reset our priorities and sparked up previous conversations we’d had about building something of our own.
They’re the reason we took the leap and quit our day jobs and why the business is called ‘arley’, after them.
Reasons to choose us
Over 20 years’ experience
James has successfully led teams at leading agencies across North & East London.
You deal directly with us
Senior-level attention from start to finish, with viewings & negotiations handled directly by us.
We’re a family business
Our name sits behind every instruction so we have fewer clients, more focus & a higher level of care.
No long contracts
We believe our service earns your loyalty, not legal tie-ins.
Competitive fees
A premium service without the inflated corporate fees.
Strategic Insight
Pricing, presentation and positioning informed by data and local knowledge.
Our Properties
Beautiful homes across some of London’s most sought after neighbourhoods including London Fields, Victoria Park, Islington, Hackney Wick, Bow and Walthamstow.
