NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2022 End of an era for cheap borrowing For most of the past decade the UK base rate has not exceeded 0.5%. As we write, the base rate has just gone from 2.25% to 3%, the biggest hike since 1989. The era of cheap money is over. However, unlike the domestic housing market, the prime London sector is less built upon a basic need for debt, and loan to value ratios tend to be low on average, and with cash purchases commonplace. There is a distinct difference between wealth and liquidity, so understanding how interest rates influence the different sectors of the market is key, and the ability to cut through the hysteria or bias in the press more important than ever. Cheap and easy money has inevitably encouraged speculation from those who had access to such funds, but the higher transaction costs introduced since the earlier/mid part of the last decade has kept this to relatively low levels and there is far less ‘heat’ in the prime London market to what we saw back in 2007/2008 or 1990/1991. So, with interest rates very much at the forefront of our minds at the moment, we spoke to our […]

FOCUS ON…NOTTING HILL Having lived and worked in various parts of London for 27 years I have built up an encyclopaedic knowledge of this amazing, ever-changing city. Many people have suggested that I share my knowledge, recollections and recommendations about some of my favourite parts of London and so, finally, I have put pen to paper (or rather keyboard to screen). Focus on… will be a regular feature on our website and I’m kicking off with the much-loved area of Notting Hill Jonny Dyson The rich and famous Ever since Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts graced our screens with the film of the same name in 1999, Notting Hill has been synonymous with the acting and music ‘set’ in the early noughties. From a personal perspective I remember days before the internet when various household names would be regulars in our office – from Madonna to Robbie, Geldoff to Noel & Liam, they became regulars through our doors. No security, no makeup, and surprisingly few airs or graces, they were just regular humans trying to find a home. The not quite so rich and famous Notting Hill has always had a bohemian feel, and even today the rich and famous […]