TSI
African lion starting to roar louder than the Russian bear in prime London market
The Russian bear is roaring less now in the prime London property market as the African lion takes over with rich Africans spending over £600 million on real estate over the last three years. New research suggests that wealthy buyers from just six countries; Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and Senegal, are snapping up luxury property in the city. Nigerians are the top buyers in London spending over £250 million and buyers from Africa favour key addresses in Mayfair, Belgravia and Knightsbridge. Overall African oligarchs now account for 5% of all ultra prime residential sales by value, up from 2% 24 months ago, according to the data from top end agents Beauchamp Estates. The top 10% of buyers are spending £30 million upwards on homes while 80% spend £15 million to £25 million on London property and they prefer newly built or newly refurbished properties, the research also shows. They also want a property with parking as trophy cars are a passion amongst wealthy families. They are also renting luxury homes and will spend £10,000 to £15,000 per week on a top London property but tent to seek short term lets of six weeks to three months. There are 15 key addresses favoured by African buyers: Eaton Square, Belgravia, Holland Park, Kensington, Addison Road, Kensington, Charles Street, Mayfair, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, The Bishops Avenue, Hampstead, Winnington Road, Hampstead, Regents Park (mansions), Compton Avenue, Highgate, Templewood Avenue, Hampstead, Avenue Road, St Johns Wood, Campden Hill Road, Kensington, Kensington Palace Gardens, Kensington, One Hyde Park, 100 Knightsbridge and The Knightsbridge Apartments, Knightsbridge. Prime London residential property is seen as a good, safe, secure and stable investment by wealthy buyers Africa but there are also historic cultural and community ties. There is a 70,000 strong Nigerian community living in London, Ghana has a 56,000 strong community in the capital, whilst the Gabonese London community consists of some 3,000 people. Wealthy Africans are also keen to send their children to top schools in and around London such as King’s School Canterbury, Wycombe Abbey, Cheltenham Ladies College, Eton, Harrow and Bradfield. The Nigerian Embassy in London has estimated that Nigerian nationals now spend over £300 million per annum on fees, study equipment, tutoring and accommodation at British schools and university. ‘It is going to be the African century and these six countries are the standard bearers in the London property market. Continental African buyers or luxury tenants in London are currently where the Russians and Ukrainians were five years ago,’ said Gary Hersham, director at Beauchamp Estates. ‘They have the resources and desire to purchase or rental luxury homes in prime central London, but they have less knowledge of the best properties and addresses and seek our local knowledge and insider advice on where to buy and what makes a good investment. At present virtually all the transactions are for end use, not rental investment, which indicates that the African buyer market in London has significant room for growth… Continue reading
UK home owners set to spend £6 billion on property upgrades in next three years
Nearly a third of UK home owners are looking to carry out work on their home in the next three years, with up to £6 billion in projected works planned annually over the next three years. According to a new study from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) over a million home owners (1,050,000) are looking to build extra space to accommodate grown up children who can’t afford to leave home. Families up and down the country are seeking to be more creative with the space in their property with 22% of home owners investing because of a property plateau which sees them unable to afford to move in to a bigger property despite having a growing family. Almost 40% of home improvements are set to be major refurbishments, including new kitchens, new bathrooms and home extensions, while smaller works such as loft conversions and conservatories account for 38%. Home owners are putting families first, as wider motivations to invest in their property include planning for having a family and parents wishing to boost their children’s’ future inheritance. ‘We have seen a rising trend of multi-generational households with grown up children opting to stay with their parents while they save money for their own homes,’ said Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB. The study also revealed that half of home owners feel their properties are in urgent need of modernisation to increase its value and a quarter of home owners in London wish to upgrade in order to let out their spare bedrooms or whole properties. Home owners in London, followed by Wales and Yorkshire are most likely to upgrade for stay at home kids who haven’t been able to move out and almost half of home owners in Northern Ireland feel compelled to upgrade their current homes as they cannot afford to move. The study also shows that when it comes to choosing a builder, one in four home owners feel out of their depth. Word of mouth remains essential, with 82% relying on personal recommendations to choose a builder, followed by 36% consulting trade association websites. When prioritising how to choose a builder, 63% say reliable references are the most important followed by 61% citing the cost of the quote, and 59% the professional manner when quoting and estimating. Some 55% said the most important thing was whether the firm is a member of a professional trade association and 54% rated knowledgeability as a top priority when discussing the project. Fear of being ripped off was the top worry, cited by 55%, while 29% were worried that a workman would make a major mistake and the same percentage cited anxiety that builders would disappear before finishing the work. Berry pointed out that the FMB has a Find a Builder matching service that is a simple, easy to use online tool to ensure home owners have absolute confidence when choosing a builder. ‘Our members have a minimum of 12 months’ trading history and have passed credit checks, public… Continue reading
Office demand surges in the City of London
Occupier demand for office space in the City of London has reached its highest level since 2000 as firms from outside the financial services sector compete for space in the Square Mile. Office take-up in the City increased from 2.2 million square feet in the second quarter of the year to three million in the third quarter, a rise of 39%, according to the latest report from Knight Frank. Demand for office space has not been above this level since the third quarter of 2000 and is nearly double the long term average of 1.7 million square feet. This has included large deals for firms such as Amazon, and London Business School. ‘I see this as evidence of the Manhattan-isation of the City office market, where finance is now one of several sources of office demand now the square mile’s economy has drawn in a variety of new industries, as is the case in New York’s key office markets,’ said Dan Gaunt, head of City Agency at Knight Frank. Based on nine months data in the year so far, the City has seen 6.9 million square feet of office space acquired, compared to 5.8 million square feet for the whole of 2012. Occupier demand has come from a variety of industries, including those that in the past were not associated with the City, as shown by large pre-lets by Amazon at Principal Place of 431,000 square feet and M & G Investments with 330,000 square feet at 10 Fenchurch Avenue. Amazon also took 86,000 square feet at Leadenhall Court, while the London Business School acquired 88,000 square feet at 40 Tower Hill. According to Bradley Baker, head of central London tenant representation at Knight Frank, occupier confidence has strengthened recently which has translated into increased market activity. ‘We expect this to continue into 2015 as well advised businesses look to secure high quality space ahead of anticipated rental growth,’ he said. Supply of offices in the City fell during the third quarter and now totals 8.7 million square feet which is well below its financial crisis peak of 13.4 million square feet in the second quarter of 2009. This represents a current vacancy rate of 7.3%, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2007 around the time queues were found outside branches of Northern Rock bank at the start of the last downturn and below the long term average of 9.2%. ‘City landlords face the challenge of delivering an environment where both a corporate law firm and a technology company may be sharing the same office building, with issues of ensuring branding and the décor of common areas are acceptable to two very different tenants,’ explained Gaunt. | ‘Equally, the two tenants may in the future converge in their attitudes to offices and indeed corporate appearances,’ he added. Continue reading
