\nTime to brush up on your history
\nNaomi Heaton
\nNaomi Heaton has made a virtue of her dynamic approach throughout her career. After studying at Oxford University she held directorships at two major advertising agencies, including industry giants Saatchi and Saatchi, where she was the company\u2019s youngest ever female director.
\nIt comes as no surprise then that she relishes being able to expend every ounce of her considerable energy at the sharp end of the London property market in her current guise as founder and CEO of London Central Portfolio (LCP).
\nShe\u2019s had her work cut out for her recently. Her firm is a formidable force in London\u2019s indomitable and highly lucrative real estate investment sector. And with potential buyers from all corners of the globe circling the market for value in the wake of the UK\u2019s Brexit vote last year and the subsequent crash in sterling, Heaton has rarely been busier. \u201cReal estate in central London makes for a highly resilient asset,\u201d she explains, as she takes some time out of her hectic schedule to offer some expert insight to the venerable treasures up for grabs in the city\u2019s golden core.
\nWhy does LCP focus so narrowly on central London?
\n\u201cDue to the historic architecture, age is a virtue in London. The older a property gets, the more valuable it gets\u201d
\nThere\u2019s very limited stock what we call \u2018prime central London\u2019. Central London is a conservation area with a unique architectural heritage, so you can\u2019t pull down buildings and build higher ones. There\u2019s almost no new build \u2013 only about 289 new units a year come into the market. The stock never really increases, although the entire world wants a piece! Therefore, there\u2019s always going to be an imbalance of demand and supply.
\nOutwith central London there\u2019s the potential to build mass stock, so you get oversupply, you get a commodity and you get price suppression. It\u2019s the scarce resource that people really aspire to that keeps going up in value.
\nBecause central London is so historic, do you often have to convince Asian investors of the benefits of central London\u2019s historic properties?
\nYes. It\u2019s a completely different mindset. Many Asian buyers, particularly those from China, are absolutely committed to new property. I think there\u2019s definitely a gap in cultural desires.
\nDue to central London\u2019s historic architecture, age is a virtue. The older a property gets, the more valuable it gets. However, in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and China, new is associated with premium, luxury and quality, and old is associated with run down and not so good. It is a gap we try to bridge as much as possible.
\nMore: Asian HNWI still love a slice of London luxury
\nThe ideal is a beautiful historic fa\u00e7ade, but brand new inside
\nHow do you advise your clients on where to buy?
\nDifferent people have different requirements. Certain clients will have a location preference and some will have architectural preferences, so some will definitely want the white stucco period properties, which are synonymous with central London, others will want portered mansion blocks.
\n\u201cFor the savvy investor it\u2019s a good time to be buying. They\u2019re going to get more for their buck\u201d
\nMost people want maximise their capital appreciation and their rental return. Places like Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Belgravia are very expensive \u2013 you just can\u2019t get the returns because of the cost of the property. We tend to direct clients towards emerging areas within prime central London.
\nBayswater, Notting Hill, Westbourne Grove, Pimlico, Westminster and Victoria all offer pretty good value, and people can add value through renovation, get value through continued market appreciation and get good rents because they\u2019re buying in at a lower price point.<\/p>\n
More: HNW Middle East students in London want to live here
\nOpen plan is best, and hallways are a waste of space, says Heaton
\nHow has Brexit changed things?
\nThe only way Brexit has really changed things is that sterling has depreciated so much.
\nFor our market, the biggest impact hasn\u2019t been Brexit, it has been taxation. Stamp duty went up for most foreign investors on 1 April by 3 percent. At the end of 2014, graduated stamp duty was also introduced. The combination of both of these has impacted the top end of the market particularly, with stamp duty potentially increasing from 5 percent to 15 percent.
\nWhile the luxury end has been impacted by these massive taxes, at the lower end of our scale it is very much business as normal. We\u2019re looking at individual units under GBP1million (USD1.2million), and for 1 bedroom flats probably under GBP700,000 (USD851,500). This is the kind of price you want to pay if you want to maximize your returns in both capital and rental scenarios.
\nBecause of the referendum, but also because of the taxation, for the savvy investor it\u2019s a good time to be buying. They\u2019re going to get more for their buck. They\u2019re buying what I would call \u2018added value properties.\u2019 They\u2019re saying \u201cright we\u2019ll buy things that maybe we couldn\u2019t afford before, which are really special.\u201d<\/p>\n