Mayfair is the ultimate Central London destination for Ultra High Net Worth renters and commands the highest rents, new analysis suggests.
The highest reported rent achieved was in Mayfair, for a house in Brick Street at £50,000 per week. Close to that record was an apartment in Chesham Place in Belgravia for £40,000 per week, whilst another in One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge has commanded the third highest rent in prime central London at £25,000 per week.
However, Marylebone is top for prime rental investment areas and draws strong international interest, according to the research from Tunstall Property, which uses the latest figures from Lonres.
Mark Tunstall, Managing Director of Tunstall Property, says, “Prime central London has a lot to offer and each neighbourhood has a distinct appeal to certain ultra-prime tenants groups.
“Our research has found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the ‘Golden Triangle’ formed by the neighbourhoods of Mayfair, Belgravia and Knightsbridge command the highest rents, in very much the same way that they do in the sales market.
“Interestingly, in terms of prime rental investment areas, Marylebone comes out on top. It’s an area that not that long ago was perhaps overlooked but is now becoming a real prime destination for those looking to rent a good home in a great central location.”
In terms of average weekly rents Knightsbridge is the most expensive district, commanding £1,700 per week compared to Mayfair (£1,500 per week), Belgravia (£1,250 per week) and Chelsea (£1,100 per week).
The best area of prime central London for rental investment returns is the increasingly popular district of Marylebone, the location of currently one of the city’s most fashionable restaurants, as well as a number of new luxury developments set to complete at the end of 2015. The trendiest area of prime central London currently returns average yields of 3.9%.
A close neighbour, the Regent’s Park district of St. John’s Wood is the second best area for prime rental investments, offering average yields of 3.6%, followed closely by South Kensington (3.4%) and the leafy district of Chelsea (3.3%).
Tunstall has produced a summary of the rental sector in the main prime Central London areas:
Mayfair
A globally renowned residential destination for generations, Mayfair attracts tenants looking for a home in one of prime central London’s best areas. Mayfair is currently undergoing something of a renaissance. In the years after the Second World War, large trenches of the district were given over to commercial office space, making it more of a business than a residential location. This is now changing as the Grosvenor Estate, the area’s biggest landowner, is converting buildings back to residential use. Similarly, Mount Street has been revitalised into London’s premier shopping street.
Highest rent achieved: £50,000 per week, Brick Street
Average rent: £1,500 per week
Average yield: 2%
Best addresses: Mount Street, Charles Street, Grosvenor Square, Upper Grosvenor St
Who rents there? City professionals, hedge funders, divorcees, high-ranking officials, British, international
Why rent there? The true core of the city and the home of London¹s finest restaurants, boutique shops and prime hotels
Belgravia
Belgravia is known as one of prime central London’s most exclusive areas, boasting prominent townhouses and mansions popular with notable Ultra High Net Worth individuals. An illustrious address, key figures such as Margaret Thatcher, Roman Abramovich, Mick Jagger and Dubai’s al-Maktoum family all having owned homes in Belgravia in recent history. The key to Belgravia’s appeal amongst ultra-prime tenants is its change of scale, from minute and charming mews homes in cobbled cul-de-sacs, through low-storeyed terraces, to the gleaming grandeur of the set pieces of Belgrave Square, Eaton Square and Chester Square. Possessing an air of confident prosperity, the almost exclusively residential area has changed considerably of late, now benefitting from some excellent independently owned neighbourhood shops. Elizabeth Street and Motcomb Street have now become key retail zones popular with local residents.
Highest rent achieved: £40,000 per week, Chesham Place
Average rent: £1,250 per week
Average yield: 2.8%
Best addresses: Eaton Square, Chester Square, Chesham Place
Who rents there? Oligarchs, high-ranking delegates and officials, business owners, British, international
Why rent there? One of London’s most exclusive districts and home to a number of high-profile personalities
Knightsbridge
The home of Harrods, Harvey Nichols and some of London’s most luxurious residential schemes including One Hyde Park, 199 Knightsbridge and the Bulgari residences, Knightsbridge is a prime destination for tenants that want to live in luxury, shop, dine and enjoy the green spaces of Hyde Park. Commanding the highest average rent across prime central London, Knightsbridge is and always has been a truly international destination, possessing the pulling power for tenants that wish to rent high-class homes in the core of prime central London. Boasting ultra-modern residential developments, Knightsbridge also offers opulent period properties, such as the area around Cadogan Square and Lennox Gardens, which has its own distinct style of red-brick architecture, where elegant apartments overlook beautiful private gardens. Meanwhile the white stucco houses of Egerton Terrace and Egerton Crescent attract families looking for a London home in one of the smartest, yet low-key, addresses.
Highest rent achieved: £25,000 per week, One Hyde Park
Average rent: £1,700 per week
Average yield: 2.4%
Best addresses: One Hyde Park, 199 Knightsbridge, Cadogan Square, Egerton Terrace
Who rents there? An international global elite including Middle Eastern royals, oligarchs, professionals, couples, singles and families
Why rent there? An international destination boasting an array of property styles in some of London’s best addresses
South Kensington
Well-known as the culture and arts quarter of London, South Kensington is also a key area of prime central London long coveted by European tenants favouring family homes in quiet streets close to a wide array of top schools. South Kensington also offers some large and elegant apartments overlooking its manicured garden squares, rivalled only by those in Belgravia, that are popular with tenants looking for a cosmopolitan neighbourhood close to some of London’s best museums and the green space of Hyde Park, home of the illustrious Serpentine.
Partly institutional, housing the Natural History Museum, The Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington is also home to some of prime central London’s most tranquil garden squares, such as Thurloe Square and Onslow Square. White stucco terraced houses sweep in a semi-circle around the leafy private gardens of Pelham Crescent, one of the gems of the area.
Highest rent achieved: £22,500 per week, Rose Square
Average rent: £1,030 per week
Average yield: 3.4%
Best addresses: Pelham Crescent, Thurloe Square, Onslow Square
Who rents there? British and European professionals and families
Why rent there? A leafy suburb within easy reach of the city’s core and home to some of the best schools in the country
Chelsea
Chelsea has been an area popular with the wealthy, as well as the artistic fraternity, throughout history. First used as a residential base for the Saxon maritime industry, transporting chalk from the River Thames, the residential base for royals and their advisers, as well as music and film stars, Chelsea is the ultimate ultra-prime destination of choice for many. Possessing a self-contained air of opulence, the area has its own way of life making it one of the most distinct areas of prime central London. The renowned King’s Road provides for residents’ needs: it even has its own department store in the form of Peter Jones. A vast array of luxury retailers, as well as numerous boutiques and neighbourhood restaurants, offer everything the typical ultra-prime tenant desires. Providing a mixture of small cottages and large family homes with substantial gardens, Chelsea is best known for its village ambience and leafy streets that are popular with large families and those that enjoy a tranquil lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of the inner city, but within close travelling distance.
Highest rent achieved: £20,000 per week, Tregunter Road
Average rent:£1,100 per week
Average yield:3.3%
Best addresses: The Boltons, Carlyle Square, Swan Walk, Tregunter Road
Who rents there? British, Americans and Europeans, families, professionals and divorcees
Why rent there? One of London’s greenest districts, with a uniquely self-contained ambience, excellent shopping on the King’s Road and the scenic Chelsea Embankment
Holland Park
Famously popular with families, Holland Park has some of the largest houses in prime central London. Interestingly, many of them were built in the 1840ss as speculative developments, but were ultimately too large and had to be divided up and sold as flats, only to be redeveloped in the past 10 years as the large single homes they were originally intended to be. Typically set within large gardens, the spacious family homes also benefit from their proximity to the enclave of Holland Park, making it a must-live area for young families. An array of excellent shops, particularly around Holland Park Avenue, are present to service affluent local residents, whilst excellent transport links to the City of London, the West of England and Heathrow Airport, makes the area a prime location of Ultra High Net Worth Families.
Highest rent achieved: £20,000 per week, Holland Park
Average rent: £900 per week
Average yield: 2.9%
Best addresses: Holland Park, Abbotsbury Road
Who rents there? British, Europeans, families, professionals, hedge funders, celebrities
Why rent there? Some of the largest family homes in central London can be found in Holland Park
Regent’s Park
Surrounding one of prime central London’s public parks, the Regent’s Park area of St. John’s Wood boasts an array of large mansion apartments, period properties and converted townhouses popular with ultra-prime tenants. Steeped in history, the area was originally laid out by John Nash, under the instruction of the Prince Regent George Frederick. A magnificent master plan was designed in the 19th Century for a vast park, known as The Regent’s Park, surrounded by palatial terraced mansions, a lake, a canal, and a summer palace or second home for the Prince Regent. It would be linked to the Prince Regent’s other home, St James’s Palace, and sister park, Hyde Park, by a processional road, now known as Regent Street. To pay for the ambitious project, the Prince Regent and John Nash planned to commission contractors to help sell and build the grand Regency Terraces around it. The opulent Regency terraces still stand, although the plans for a grand palace in the centre of Regent’s Park were never seen through: following the Prince Regent’s succession to the throne, becoming King George IV, he turned his attention instead to remaining at and improving Buckingham Palace. The Regency terraces are now the grand homes of high profile individuals preferring a large residence overlooking the vast green spaces of the park, whilst enjoying direct access to the core of prime central London.
Highest rent achieved: £20,000 per week, Stanley House
Average rent: £980 per week
Average yield: 3.6%
Best addresses: Cambridge Gate, Cornwall Terrace
Who rents there? High-ranking officials, professionals, families
Why rent there? The open space of Regent’s Park makes this leafy north prime central London district perfect for those with young children, whilst the Jubilee Line provides direct access to key city areas.
Kensington
A scattering of excellent schools draws families to the area, whilst Kensington Palace Gardens (aka Millionaire’s Row) attracts Ultra High Net Worth individuals looking for the very grandest of homes neighbouring the Palace. The focus of the area is Kensington High Street, voted one of the nation’s best shopping streets and original home of the popular organic food store, Whole Foods Market. The jewel in Kensington’s crown is the Phillimore Estate, a grid of elegant period homes, varying in size from substantial to enormous. In recent years there have also been a number of exclusive new developments, from Earl’s Terrace, which was the redevelopment of an entire row of Georgian houses, The Phillimores, Wycombe Square and Thornwood Gardens, all of which provide secure environments with full concierge services and underground parking.
Highest rent achieved: £15,000 per week, Vicarage Gate
Average rent: £1,000 per week
Average yield: 2.6%
Best addresses: Kensington Palace Gardens, Upper Phillimore Gardens, Cottesmore Gardens
Who rents there? American and British families, professionals
Why rent there? Sandwiched between the green spaces of Holland Park and Kensington Palace Gardens, Kensington is a perfect family neighbourhood of well-proportioned homes.
Bayswater
Besides long time British residents, there is a large Arabic population towards Edgware Road, a prominent Greek community attracted by the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Moscow Road, as well as a number of American families attracted by the relative proximity to the American School in St. John’s Wood. Despite suffering heavy bombing during World War Two, Bayswater retained most of its attractive garden squares, lined with stucco terraces, mostly now spacious apartments.
Highest rent achieved: £12,500 per week, Connaught Place
Average rent: £720 per week
Average yield :2.6%
Best addresses: Porchester Terrace, Orme Gate, Connaught Place, The Lancasters
Who rents there:?European and American families, couples, professionals
Why rent there? Some very exclusive properties line the northern perimeter of Hyde Park offering spectacular tree-top park views.
Notting Hill
Once only known for the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Market, thanks to the 1999 film Notting Hill, the area has come a long way and is now a key ultra-prime tenant location in prime central London. Historically, the wealthy and respectable lived on top of the hill in family houses backing onto delightful communal gardens, which remain one of the biggest attractions of the area. Notting Hill’s contemporary reputation is fashionable and affluent, its pastel coloured Victorian townhouses, high-end shops and restaurants making it a prime destination for Ultra High Net Worth renters.
Highest rent achieved: £12,000 per week, Clarendon Road
Average rent:£700 per week
Average yield: 2.9%
Best addresses: Pembridge Square, Dawson Place, Clarendon Road, Lansdowne Road
Who rents there? British and American families, hedge funders, professionals, social trenders, celebrities
Why rent there? A collection of large homes, many with direct access to fabulous communal gardens, make this an unbeatable location for families with young children
Maida Vale
Maida Vale and Little Venice form a wholly residential district that is spacious, well-ordered and decidedly popular. Strategically placed for the main routes to the north and west of England, as well as the Paddington Express, which takes residents to Heathrow Airport in 15-minutes. The large cream stucco houses around the Regent’s Canal are the area’s biggest single homes and the most popular with ultra-prime tenants looking to live in a bohemian area with excellent transport links and enjoy the array of bars and restaurants along the scenic canal basins of Paddington and Little Venice.
Highest rent achieved: £12,000 per week, Blomfield Road
Average rent: £700 per week
Average yield: 3.3%
Best addresses: Blomfield Road, Warwick Avenue
Who rents there? British, Americans, professionals, couples and families
Why rent there? Little Venice is the hub of activity for Maida Vale, providing a European city ambience
Marylebone
Marylebone is fast becoming prime central London’s buzziest area, fuelled largely by the celebrity hotspot Chiltern Firehouse and numerous luxury new-build developments appearing across the area. Famous for its 20th century brick façade townhouses, Marylebone has a distinct mixture of quiet residential and buzzy commercial streets. Marylebone High Street and Chiltern Street boast a wide array of boutique retailers, cafes and Michelin Star restaurants. Marylebone also benefits from Oxford Street to the south and Regent’s Park to the north, a perfect combination: a prominent shopping promenade aligned with peaceful green space. Baker Street Underground Station also provides excellent transport links to key city destinations (Jubilee Line) and West London (Hammersmith & City Line).
Highest rent achieved: £11,500 per week, Upper Wimpole Street
Average rent: £890 per week
Average yield: 3.9%
Best addresses: Chiltern Street, Portman Square, Montagu Square
Who rents there? British, social trenders (Chiltern Firehouse set), single professionals and couples
Why rent there? A quiet district sandwiched between Mayfair and Regent¹s Park, with direct access to Oxford Street to the south and Hyde Park to the west.
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