Ed Mead

Why the global elite are buying London property again

Prime Central London is on the rebound

  • From Spectator Life
Egerton Crescent in Knightsbridge [Getty Images]

If you’re looking for a bellwether for the world economy, you could do worse than consider what’s happening at the very highest end of London’s property market.

Over several decades, Prime Central London – or PCL – had become a repository for cash from wealthy foreigners, whether they actually wanted to live there or not. This had several side effects – namely that PCL became mostly lined with empty properties and prices went into ‘trophy’ mode.

This is a world controlled by a cabal of high-end agents operating completely off the grid

Then Brexit appeared on the horizon, and for some time rich international buyers avoided London out of fear of complications that might arise from being outside the EU. After all, these wealthy investors felt fairly confident that they had at least some grasp on what was happening in the world economy in the short- to medium-term – and PCL was left somewhat in the doldrums.

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