Financial Times Europe - 19.10.2019 - 20.10.2019

6 ★ FT Weekend 19 October/20 October 2019

Political correction

W

estminster is not the

easiest place to live,

even when Extinction

Rebellionis notprotest-

ing on Westminster

Bridge. The roads are full of traffic and

the streets are full of tourists. But the

selfie-stick waving visitors and souvenir

stalls by Westminster tube station do

not put off Mary, a TV producer who

lives in one of the area’sredbrick Victo-

rian mansion blocks. “For convenience

it’s unparalleled,” she says. “You can

walk across St James’s Park to Bond

Street and the tube links are amazing. I

feel it’s still a bit of an ‘inside secret’ and

full of character.”

It has not been enough to tempt buy-

ers, however. According to data from

LonRes, the average resale property in

Westminster spends 309 days on the

market before it sells — and when

homes do sell, the average discountis

more than 12 per cent.

There are signs things are changing,

however. A series of luxury sales in the

area suggests buyers are prepared to

spend big money on homes— if the price

is right.

Last month, a four-bedroom lateral

apartment at 10 Whitehall Place (which

is serviced by the Corinthia Hotel) olds

to a buyer from Hong Kong for £10.75m,

or more than £2,903 per sqft — it is the

most expensive resale property sold in

Westminster for five years, even if it was

originally marketed for £11.25m.

In 2018, a property at the Thameside

Riverwalk development in Millbank on

the borders of Westminster and Pimlico

sold for more than £3,000 per sq ft. And

at The Broadway, a new development on

the site of the former New ScotlandYard

building, 60 of the 258 apartments have

so far sold off-plan for between £2,700

to £5,500 per sq ft, according to Northa-

cre, the developer.

St John’s Smith Square [which hosts

classical concerts] nd 18th centurya

pubs such as Two Chairmen, make this

area special,” he says.

Westminster’s flats have held their

value better than houses — though both

are down in real terms. In 2015, the

average price per sq ft for a Westminster

apartment was £1,242; this year it is

£1,248. The equivalent valuefor houses

hasfallen, dropping 28 per cent romf

£1,509 in 2015 o £1,081 today.t

One Cowley Street, the former home

of the actor Sir John Gielgud — a seven-

bedroom mansion with indoorpool — is

on the market with Knight Frank for

£29.95m. It was first listed in April last

year for £36m.

Other prime streets are Smith Square

and Barton Street, says Robert Oatley

of Knight Frank, along with the

pocket of early Georgian streets

behind Petty France including Old

Queen Street, where a number of town-

houses are being renovated to attract

high-end buyers.

A former office building at 35 Old

Queen Street near St James’s Park, has

been converted into luxury apartments,

priced from £1.175m,sold through

Knight Frank. The same agency is also

marketing a five-bedroom house at

26 Old Queen Street, which backs on to

the park, for £17.75m. “It might be a

London base for an American or Asian

family,” says Nicola Fontanella of

Argent Design whodesigned its interi-

ors. “Or a low-key couple who don’t

need the cachet of owning in Grosvenor

or Belgrave Squares.”

Properties in Carlisle Mansions, a red-

brick mansion block on Carlisle Place,

are more typical ofWestminster stock.

There, Savills is selling a three-bedroom

flat for just under £2m. The generous

layout of the area’s mansion flats are

popular withbuyers nda renters. “Fami-

lies from the nearby embassies likefour

or five-bedroom apartments, which

new-build options rarely do,” says Holly

Butler of agent Garton Jones.

She says international students at

University College London like the area

for its relative affordability and central

location, especially the newer buildings

such as the Westminster Quarter on

Monock Street; Abell and Cleland on

John Islip Street; and the Courthouse at

70 Horseferry Road. “Students now out-

number MPs since second-home allow-

ances were cut and rental rates have

risen,” she says.

i/B U Y I N G G U I D E

Westminster has central London’s

only Unesco World Heritage Site, which

includes the Houses of Parliament,

Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s

Church

The Elizabeth Tower that houses the Big

Ben bellis undergoing four years of

repairs (until 2021) while the Houses of

Parliament are having a £4bn restoration

The City of Westminster charges among

the lowest council tax rates in the county.

For a home in the middle ‘D’ band,

residents pay an annual total of £754,

including the GLA charge

What you can buy for...

£700,000 two-bedroom flat with viewsA

of Westminster Cathedral

£1.25m two-bedroom flat in a VictorianA

mansion block

£4.75mA four-bedroom terraced house

in the heart of Westminster

More atpropertylistings.ft.com

UK propertyWestminster’s

house prices havefallen but

its flats remain desirable

especially among

international buyers. ByLiz

Rowlinson

mapsnews.com/©HERE

Whitehall Place

St James’s

Park

PIMLICO

WESTMINSTER

Westminster

Cathedral

Old Queen

Street

Palace

Street Broadway

Birdcage

Walk

Whitehall

Westminster

Bridge

LONDON

Horseferry

Road

St John’s

Smith

Square

Houses of

Parliament

 m

Property prices in Westminster

 per sq m

Source: LonRes









   

Flat

House

Prices at The

Broadway on the

site of the

former New

Scotland Yard

building range

from £2,700-

£5,500 per sq ft

House Home

At the developer’s otherWestminster

scheme — No 1 Palace Street, with 72

apartments in the Grade II-listed former

hotel overlooking Buckingham Palace —

pricesrange from £2.55m to £30m —

with 39sold off-plan to buyers spanning

10 nationalities. The project will com-

plete at the end of next year.

Property prices in Westminster

average£1,122 per sqft, according

to LonRes, 30 per cent cheaper than

next-door Belgravia (at £1,586 per sq ft)

and 33 per cent cheaper than Chelsea

(at £1,697). Sales are low in Westmin-

ster but ticking up, rising 1.4 per cent

year-on-year.

Incoming buyers will find an

improved cluster of restaurants. Tom

Kerridge’s Bar & Grill is now at the Cor-

inthia Hotel, along with Jason Ather-

ton’s Hai Cenato on Simon Milton

Square. According to renowned chef

Michel Roux Jr — who hasa restaurant

in Westminster called Roux at Parlia-

ment Square — there have always been

gems in the area, you just need to know

where to look. “The musical haven of

Queen Anne’s Gate in Westminster —Paul Carstairs/Alamy

OCTOBER 19 2019 Section:Weekend Time: 16/10/2019- 17:45 User:elizabeth.robinson Page Name:RES6, Part,Page,Edition:RES, 6, 1