Hedging Their Bets

Contrary to predictions of an exodus, it turns out that Prime London has actually seen an influx of high-end buyers from a financial background over the last couple of years.

Buying agents will have been particularly keen to get in front of the likes of Glen Point Capital co-founder Jonathan Fayman – who recently relocated back to London from New York – but plenty of other wealthy finance workers have been choosing to splash the cash in the UK capital, according to new data from Knight Frank.

34.6% of Prime London buyers above £2m hailed from a City/finance background last year, notes the agency, which was the highest proportion since 2013 (38.4%).

The level fell to a low of 25.2% in 2016 but rose to 29.3% in 2017 and 33.1% in 2018.

Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, explained that London “plays a key global role in the financial services sector, whether it’s clearing derivatives trades, trading Chinese currency or as the location for major stock market flotations.

“As initial uncertainty surrounding the impact of Brexit fades, it is unsurprising to see this translate into higher activity levels among finance workers in London’s prime housing market.”

The sales and marketing boss of one of PCL’s flagship schemes, Chelsea Barracks, has also noticed a pick-up in enquiries from the sector. Qatari Diar’s Richard Oakes said: “London will always be a place where people aspire to live, work and visit, but the steadying economic climate has led to increased sales enquiries in Chelsea Barracks. Of these enquiries, a number are from those within the financial services sector – which can be attributed to the quality of the product we are delivering and the location of the site, in the heart of one of London’s most prestigious boroughs.”

https://primeresi.com/city-high-rollers-return-to-prime-london/