When Neil Short became a lettings agent, it is fair to assume that he didn’t expect to find himself googling exorcists because a wealthy tenant feared his rental home was haunted.
asserted
home → become → exorcists
James Nightingall recalls having to paparazzi-proof a home for a world-famous actress.
asserted
Nightingall → recall → actress
And Matthew Huybrechts had to inform the owner of another luxury property that their new tenant had requested the designer kitchen be gutted and converted into a walk-in shoe closet.
asserted
kitchen → have → closet
“The tenant didn’t need a kitchen as they’d only order in or eat out,” he explained.
asserted
he → need → kitchen
Welcome to the weird, wasteful, but flourishing world of super-prime rentals, where tenants often pay north of £1 million a year to secure the most lavish properties in London.
asserted
tenants → welcome → London
And, with high taxes and little prospect of any capital growth deterring these ultra-wealthy individuals from buying, business is brisk among visiting celebrities, newly signed footballers, billionaires and tech bros with business in London, oil royals avoiding the heat at home, and even teenage students.
asserted
business → deter → home
Soaring demand for high-end rentals
Prime London’s sales market might be flagging — prices down eight per cent in the past year according to property analyst LonRes — but demand for high-end rentals is booming.
uncertain
demand → soar → rentals
According to estate agent Knight Frank the number of new super-prime tenancies —costing £5,000pcm or more — agreed in the three months to August was 13 per cent higher than the five-year average.
uncertain
number → accord → average
This demand is putting upward pressure on prices, with prime rental costs up more than five per cent in the past year, and 41 per cent since before the pandemic.
asserted
costs → put → pandemic
For an officially swanky London flat you would need to shell out £949 per week (a cool almost-£50,000 per year).
asserted
you → need → year
A super-prime house would set you back more than twice as much – an average £2,546 per week or more than £130,000 per year.
asserted
house → set → year
Of course in reality high-rolling tenants often pay far more for a temporary home.
asserted
tenants → roll → home
The most expensive deal Nightingall, boss of Suites & Villas, has ever inked was for £150,000 per week — yes, per week — with an American billionaire visiting London for work.
asserted
billionaire → ink → work
For that he got a 4,779 sq ft penthouse at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge, its three bedrooms decorated with fine silk wallpapers and with a library curated by Mayfair antiquarian bookshop Heywood Hill.
asserted
bedrooms → get → Hill
Short, area director at JLL, can’t quite compete with that.
asserted
Short → compete → that
But he does recall agreeing a £19,000 per week rental for an eight-bedroom house in Addison Crescent, close to Holland Park.
asserted
he → recall → Park
The family lived in the house for three years, paying out close to £3m.
London’s super-prime tenants are a glamorous bunch.
asserted
tenants → live → 3
Many work in film or TV, in front or behind the camera, and are in town to work at one of London’s theatres or at Pinewood Studios.
asserted
Many → work → Studios
Others are touring pop stars seeking a retreat from screaming fans.
asserted
Others → tour → fans
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes initially rented a home in Notting Hill while working in London, before moving to a base in Hampstead, where the Barbie star made quite an impression on local school-run mums.
asserted
star → rent → mums
Nicole Kidman, despite recently confessing to owning a bolthole in Notting Hill, rented Boy George’s gothic mansion by Hampstead Heath when she was in town filming the sequel to Practical Magic.
asserted
she → confess → Magic
And Gordon Ramsay rented a £12,000-a-month flat at Battersea Power Station to avoid the dust while his family home in Wandsworth was being renovated.
asserted
home → rent → Wandsworth
“Footballers are another group, particularly around transfers,” said Nightingall.
asserted
Nightingall → say → transfers
“I once helped a Chelsea player and his family with their accommodation.
asserted
I → help → accommodation
We’re also seeing more founders and people from technology, venture capital and finance.
asserted
We → see → technology
For them, renting often makes perfect sense because London may only be one of several cities they spend time in.”
uncertain
they → rent → time
Most of Huybrechts’ tenants are visiting from overseas, and want to stay for a few months to make the most of London’s summer season — “cooler than the Middle East” — and enjoy its restaurants and private members’ clubs.
asserted
Most → visit → restaurants
Others are studying in London and their parents will pay between £10,000 and £20,000 per week to put their little scholars up in Mayfair digs for the duration.
asserted
parents → study → duration
Some of Short’s tenants have their hearts firmly set on Mayfair.
asserted
hearts → have → Mayfair
“We have applicants who simply won’t consider anywhere else — even neighbouring Fitzrovia or Marylebone,” he said.
asserted
he → have → Fitzrovia
“Footballers tend to head close to their club, while diplomats prefer to be close to Belgravia.”
asserted
diplomats → tend → Belgravia
“The interesting thing is how little some of them get used”
Short
But wherever they want to live they generally tend to want plenty of bells and whistles — gyms, swimming pools, and cinema rooms.
asserted
they → use → bells
“The interesting thing is how little some of them get used,” said Short.
asserted
Short → use → them
“What tenants want is the reassurance that everything is available if they choose.”
asserted
they → want → What
Before they agree to move in, many super-prime renters want to put their own stamp on a property, especially if they plan to live in it for a year or two.
asserted
they → agree → year
“Families taking a house for three years or more frequently want fresh paint, new carpets and new curtains,” explained Short.
asserted
Short → take → paint
“They want it to feel like theirs.”
asserted
it → want → theirs
Tax perks and ‘lily-padding’ lifestyle
Given the costs of renting — and in some cases redecorating — a rental property, an obvious question is why these super-prime tenants don’t just buy a place.
asserted
tenants → give → place
Huybrechts said the issue is value for money.
asserted
issue → say → money
Most super-prime renters would be liable for the very highest stamp duty rates, which would work out at up to £190,000 for every £1m they spend.
asserted
they → work → m
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
