Chinese Super-Rich Start Arriving in London

The fear that established clients will flee rising UK taxes might be giving London's private bankers sleepless nights, but a Chinese remedy is at hand, in the shape of a growing colony of super-rich clients from Asia.

Traders on London's Bond Street, a shopping strip of exclusive jewellers, art dealers and fashion retailers that bisects the elite Mayfair district report Chinese shoppers now outspend their Russian and Arab counterparts.

Chinese shoppers spent more than 3 million pounds ($4.93 million) on Bond Street during the six months to September, more than double the previous period, according to figures from the Bond Street Association of traders on the street.

London's upmarket estate agents also report a surge in interest from Asian, particularly Chinese, buyers of properties in the prime districts of Mayfair and Belgravia, where little sells for less than 1 million pounds.

Immigration lawyers servicing rich visa applicants also report growing demand, with no noticeable drop in enquiries since the government revealed plans to hike tax. rates.

Belgravia Lettings: Lottery for Luxury House in Belgravia

Belgravia Lettings: Lottery for Luxury House in Belgravia

Central London Office Space In Demand

After a long downward spiral lasting the better part of a year, the London real estate market seems to be finally looking at a turnaround. A host of companies including Google and Royal Dutch Shell are reported to be scouting around for space in the City for their offices. This comes as welcome news for the London real estate market reeling under dropping rentals and rising vacancy levels.

According to real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield, Royal Dutch Shell, the oil company, is looking at around 220,000 sq ft of office space while Google needs around 145,000 sq ft. Apart from these two, other interested buyers are also present in the market, such as insurer Aon Corp and Centaur Media, the publishing house.

There were a number of buyers in the beginning of 2009 who had held off making decisions due to the downward trend in the market. These same buyers now seem to be ready to commit, indicating a turnaround for offices to rent London likely in the coming months. According to industry figures, rental take-up for office space in the City has gone up by nearly 65% in the third quarter of the year, as compared to the previous quarter.

Property rates as well as occupancy levels during the second quarter were at their lowest in over ten years, and real estate management firms in the City like Hammerson, British Land and Land Securities were some of those most affected by the downturn. The new demand is likely to push up office space requirements by over 9 million sq ft, a rise of nearly 20% over the beginning of the year.

US Embassy Mayfair Listed

The facade of the US Embassy building in Grosvenor Status has been given listed building status by the government minister responsible for architecture.

The controversial building, which often divides opinion, has been cited as an important piece of modernist architecture by Margaret Hodge.

The Embassy was built between 1955 and 1957 and designed by Eero Saarinen. Last year, it was announced that the Embassy was looking to move to a new site at Nine Elms and would sell the building. Any new buyer will now be forced to maintain the existing facade may dampen price expectations for the gargantuan compound.

Mayfair Property History of Great Estates

Great family estates are still shaping the way London lives.The Duke of Westminster, the richest of them all, has plans to bring new residents and a fresh glamour to Mayfair and Belgravia

£2.45 million: two-bedroom flat with two terraces in Eaton Square, the jewel in Grosvenor’s crown. Savills (020 7581 5234)
Three-hundred years ago London's wealthiest land-owning families became developers - building on their huge estates and giving shape to the city we know today.

Many of these families still own large acreages of central London - now covered with valuable commercial and domestic property - showing a remarkable ability to survive turbulent economic cycles.

Many of Mayfair's wealthy families fled London during the Blitz and never returned after the Second World War. So grand houses were converted into offices. Grosvenor had anticipated the rising demand for business space in the post-war period, and had begun to grant "temporary" (50-year) office leases. In the Nineties, as these leases expired and hedge fund managers and other entrepreneurs targeted Mayfair as a place to live as well as work, Grosvenor initiated a programme of residential reversions.

About 250 buildings have since reverted to residential use and the process is continuing. Several mansions have been reinstated as homes, while Grosvenor has collaborated with niche developers to create large lateral flats or transform modest mews houses into spectacular homes.
For more Mayfair Historye

Renting in Mayfair

A Mayfair triplex apartment — with cinema, car lift, secret courtyard garden and swimming pool — is to let at £40,000 a week.

This rent, which is more than 250 times what you would pay for a studio in Clapham, is seen as an emblem of the confidence in the London housing market, where the return of the City boy, with his bonus, is emerging as the theme of the autumn and winter.

The rent is cheaper than the bill for a suite, or suites, in one of the deluxe hotels that line nearby Park Lane. A star, plus entourage, would have room to rest and play in the apartment, as there are seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two kitchens.

For more on renting in London please see The Timesonline

West End Estate and Lettings Agents

West End Estate & Lettings Agents: Central London W1, WC1 & WC2.

LDG are London estate and letting agents with houses, penthouses, lofts, studios, flats and apartments for sale and to rent in the West End of London.

Since our humble beginnings back in 1987 we've watched the West End property market steadily increase in activity. And over our 20 years in operation as West End estate and letting agents, we've observed the central London areas of Soho, Covent Garden, Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury and Marylebone grow, each developing individual idiosyncrasies and attracting their own niche market.

Moe on Estate & Lettings Agents in London W1, WC1 & WC2