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Musings of a company of Mayfair London Property Finders

Last year in the midsdt of recession those of us dealing in the luxury goods in London were warned that the Hedge Funds were leaving London but barring my cousin, it seems that most people have decided to stay put.  At the time, our Clients were saying they would drag their heels if asked to relocate to Geneva and there was much made of the ability to work from home, either as a trader for someone else or to make the leap to self-employment.

None of this seems to have happened however as most of the major hedge funds have stayed put.

Wealth Bulletin have reported that a mass exodus is ‘overblown’, speaking to a few leading Hedge Fund Managers  at a round table organised by Hedge Fund organisation Opalesque.

He is reported to have said: “I agree that there are concerns about taxation and regulations. But something else comes into play here that I call the Wimbledon effect. London attracts the best people to one of the best tournaments. Businesses come to London because they have the best courts, the best talent, the best infrastructure, and a great championship.”

This view was apparently echoed by Lawrence Staden, managing director of GLC, which manages around $1bn (€678m) in assets. He said: “You can’t in every case just effortlessly move your family to a tax haven. What does money give you if not the freedom to decide where you spend your life?”

He cited an experience 25 years ago, when he told his wife that his then employer, Bankers Trust, wanted him to move to New York. Her response was “Send me a post card”. As a result, he didn’t go - he explained: “These things are not that easy for some of us.”

He said he did not believe that floods of funds would move for tax reasons, as the net impact of the UK’s 50% tax rate was neglible. He said: “Most people’s assets under management are less than they were two years ago. That means moving to avoid 50% tax on a smaller amount, when you were not prepared to move before to avoid 40% on a larger amount.”

He added: “Personally, I’d say that even if they put the [top rate of] income tax to 100%, I would still be in London.”

Long may it continue and for us Mayfair Property Finders to continue to deal with Hedge Funds!  If you need a fabulous property in London or the South East, the Manse and Garret Property Finders would be delighted to help.

Technorati Tags: Hedge Funds, Hedge Funds stay in London, Mayfair Property

Tags: Hedge Funds, Hedge Funds stay in London, Mayfair Property

Reproduced with the kind permission of the Land Registry

Musings of the best Upmarket London Property Finders

The Land Registry  house price statistics for August reflect the rosier ambience those of us involved in the property market have been experiencing for a number of months now.  Most significantly, the number of house sales at the top end, particularly those over £2 million are up year on year at 54 a month in London.  House prices in Westminster, which includes Mayfair, Marylebone, Bayswater and parts of Notting Hill are now down just 3.4% versus last year and we would expect them to end the year close to prices achieved in May 2008, when house prices in Westminster were at their peak.  The average home in Westminster is now worth £574,714 compared to £622,950 in May 2008.

Technorati Tags: Latest London House Price Data, London House Prices, london house prices rise, London property, London Property Finder, London property finders, London property prices, London Property Prices Stable

Tags: Latest London House Price Data, London House Prices, london house prices rise, London property, London Property Finder, London property finders, London property prices, London Property Prices Stable

Musings of the upmarket London Property Finders

It’s conference season again and with most people believing the Tory takeover will be a shoe-in next year, Labour are on the defensive and one of the first things on the agenda at their annual conference today was an attack on Tory housing plans. 

John Healey the Housing Minister suggested the Conservatives would abolish assistance to those struggling to pay mortgages and allow property developments to go ahead without the often draconian requirements for social housing.  He added that plans for social tenants in Conservative-controlled Hammersmith and Fulham would ‘double or triple rents and put their homes on the line with 2 months notice’.

The government meanwhile outlined plans to add a further £180m to fund 1,200 more affordable homes.  The thing is, we can think of several ghastly developments which would eat that up in no time.  Land with planning for development and affordable housing is still being sold relatively cheaply, particularly where a housing association has already agreed to buy the social housing element and with banks now cautiously lending to developers again, 1,200 more affordable homes don’t really get our vote.  Particularly when they are likely to be the first flats hit when the recession bites again.

With all this, coupled with the Liberal Democrats ill-conceived  idea to tax houses worth over £1 million, we wish the politicians would just leave us London Property Finders and other Property people to get on with things and stop interfering.

Technorati Tags: Labour housing plans, Lib Dem housing plans, London House Prices, London property finders, Tory housing plans

Tags: Labour housing plans, Lib Dem housing plans, London House Prices, London property finders, Tory housing plans