NEWCASTLE-based Walton Robinson appointed two members of staff last year to support its growing client base with the increase of the Chinese student community. The Chinese Lettings Bureau has been a success at the company who have now expanded into social media to reach both tenants and landlords with their full circle service.
Alice Lam, 27, originally from Hong Kong, who speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese and Qi Wang, 23, originally from Beijing, who speaks English and Mandarin, work with Walton Robinson not only providing help to international students with finding a property but with other aspects of life in the UK.
Walton Robinson have also launched into the Chinese social Network, Weibo to connect with students and landlords in Newcastle and China who are moving to Newcastle to study or considering an investment in the City.
According to the UK Council for International Student Affairs, 17% of the North East student population is international. Walton Robinson has recently seen an influx of demand from Chinese nationals looking for good quality accommodation whilst studying in Newcastle. This in turn makes the city an attractive prospect from overseas investors looking for properties in the UK.
Walton Robinson partner Jaimie Hocking said: “It’s great to live in such a multicultural city and have so many international students attracted to studying here. Newcastle is a wonderful place to live and study, and we want to make sure all of our customers experience that feeling from the minute they arrive here.”
Qi and Alice both studied at Newcastle University so know only too well the struggles in finding your feet in a foreign country for the first time. Alice explained: “It can be daunting to make such a big move from home at such a young age; there are many cultural differences that can make organising aspects of your life that bit more difficult.
“Newcastle luckily has an established and growing Chinese community, with great local Chinese supermarkets, places of worship and of course China Town for nights out. However, issues like getting a UK mobile phone contract, installing Internet access at home, and understanding how to pay bills here, are all very different to that in China. This is where Qi and I always try and offer an extra bit of advice to help new tenants feel more looked after.”
Walton Robinson partner, Jaimie Hocking, concluded: “It is part of our company ethos to develop a specialist team that can talk to both landlords and students in the right way. Qi and Alice have brought a new layer of cultural expertise with our Chinese bureau, and we’re delighted to be able to help even more students enjoy Newcastle life without any hassles or worries about getting somewhere to live, and settling into The Toon.”
Walton Robinson provides the full circle service from sourcing a property to completing the sale, refurbisment, advertising, letting, property management and sales.
