OUR HISTORY
A historic signature of luxury real estate since 1995.
THE FOUNDER
Philip R. Weiser has always felt at home anywhere in the world. Born in New Zealand and educated in Lausanne, he moved to London where he gained the defining experience that shaped his vision: one of exceptional service, tailored to the individual, where every client is treated as a distinguished guest.
It was this conviction that drew him to the South of France and into the world of luxury real estate.
In 1995, he founded Carlton International, the cornerstone of a group that would become, over thirty years, one of the most respected names in prestige property on the French Riviera. A house built in his own image: international in its network, deeply rooted in its territory, uncompromising in the quality of its service. Guided by its motto Fidus et Audax, Carlton International has never wavered from that promise, for every client, for every project, without exception.
The origins of carlton international
Carlton International was born from a moment in history and a deeply held conviction. In the aftermath of the global economic crisis that followed the Gulf War in 1991, the real estate market was shaken to its foundations. It was against this backdrop that a vision took shape, one built not on volume, but on discretion, on bespoke accompaniment, on the kind of personal, multilingual service that a sophisticated international clientele had long been seeking and rarely found.
The beginnings were quiet, almost understated. The agency took its first steps in the basement of a building, no grand shopfront, no ostentatious display. Just a clear idea, and the determination to see it through. A house that spoke softly, but said something meaningful.
A name was needed. Something elegant, universal, effortless to pronounce in any language, and strong enough to carry a promise across borders. Carlton International stood out naturally: a name with prestige, with a global outlook, carrying a promise the agency would spend thirty years honouring, one transaction, one client at a time.
In 1995, Philip R. Weiser made it official. What had begun as a vision became reality. What had been a conviction became a reference.
1995
Foundation of
Carlton International
Carlton International was born in the basement of a building we once owned. A discreet, almost confidential place, where a new vision of luxury real estate was already beginning to take shape.
1996
Sale of the first villa
We welcomed our first employee, marking the very beginning of a growing team. The very first villa sale came to embody our ambition.
1999
Move to Carlton International’s very first office
A modest space, raw concrete, still waiting to be imagined… yet already filled with ambition.
Then came a second employee. A third. A fourth, a fifth… The offices grew, ideas came together, and the adventure began to take shape.
2000
Opening of the first Carlton International agency in
Valbonne
A founding milestone: the opening of our first storefront agency in Valbonne, between Provençal charm and Riviera elegance. A local foothold… and a new momentum.
2012
Opening of the second
agency in Saint-Tropez
Opening of Carlton International in the iconic village of Saint-Tropez, at Château Suffren, an emblematic site located opposite the famous Saint-Tropez Marina.
2020—2025
Opening of 4 new agencies on the French Riviera
Carlton International established itself in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, La Garde-Freinet, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and finally Cannes, over a five-year period that allowed us to expand our network.
2024
Establishment of our third brand license in Marbella
Our international development reached a new milestone with the granting of our third brand license in Marbella, a sun-drenched jewel of the Andalusian coast.
“SERVICE IS THE cornerstone OF OUR reputation.”
Philip Weiser
FIDUS ET AUDAX
Some choices are founding ones that speak volumes about a name. From 1995, Carlton International chose to embrace a heraldic tradition, not out of nostalgia, but out of a deep conviction that certain values deserve to be engraved, made visible, carried as a permanent commitment. Every figure that composes the coat of arms was conceived as a text. Courage and bravery at the heart of the emblem, discretion and collaboration as the foundation of every client relationship, majesty and nobility as the expression of an uncompromising standard of excellence. And then the sea, the light, the South: that founding territory to which the agency belongs intimately, and of which thirty years of presence have built a knowledge that is unique, irreplaceable.
At the foot of the coat of arms, two Latin words bring this silent narrative to a close: Fidus et Audax. Faithful and Audacious. Two words chosen as much for their precision as for their elegance. They say what Carlton International has always been, and what it commits to remaining. A name that keeps its word, that is not afraid to go the distance for its clients, and that has made loyalty and audacity not values to be displayed, but a way of being every single day.
