As the city begins to loosen its lockdown and Londoners are emerging cautiously back into the world, we are respectful of these gradual steps towards normality and continue to work from home. Over the past few months of remote working and virtual meetings, we have been afforded the time to take a good hard look at the housing market and how it has evolved due to Covid-19.
It is now clear that 2020’s buyers will be more conscious about the type of property they want. In these times of ‘no place but home’, our residences have become hybrid-homes, serving as the office, a restaurant, a cinema and a gym all in one. As a result, it is predicted that lifestyle destinations featuring quality residences paired with working hubs, leisure spaces and private gardens in the same building will be increasingly valued by all. Home office space, outside areas and open sky views are quickly rising up the list of priorities alongside somewhere to exercise whilst online classes and Peloton-style workouts become the new routine.
At Northacre, we have always prided ourselves on leading the way in experiential living and crafting lifestyle destinations to suit, and this year is no exception. In fact, at both No. 1 Palace Street and The Broadway, we are already ahead of the curve having prioritised in-house technologies such as touch-free access points and intercoms throughout our buildings as well as offering beautiful spacious areas, both indoors and out, for friends to meet safely and in style.
So, as the Government’s directive has changed from ‘stay home’ to ‘stay alert’, we remain ever more mindful about the demands of today’s city dweller and continue our legacy of creating some of London’s most superior homes.
CEO Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro
Because we are all staying indoors, this month’s events diary will look a little different. Despite not being able to venture out, there are still plenty of interesting ways to stay entertained, transporting and exercising our minds. From streaming a critically acclaimed play or brushing up on cooking skills, here are five lovely ideas to get you started.
Celebrate Earth Day
Yesterday, Wednesday 22 April, marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day – an international event promoting support for environmental protection. To celebrate this significant milestone, Somerset House will be putting on a programme of online workshops looking at the impact of art, fashion and design on nature until the 20th May. Explore the future of sustainable fashion, watch live Q&As about the environment and more.
Live stream the Northern Lights
We may be fully into spring here in the UK but certain parts of the world are still in the depths of winter. In Canada, the aurora borealis continues to make an appearance regularly and you can livestream this stunning light show via explore.org.
Home theatre
Theatres across the capital are putting recordings of their best-loved productions online to entertain audiences on their sofas. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s team have set up a YouTube channel called The Shows Must Go On!, where a different musical is uploaded for 48 hours every Friday at 7pm. And London’s ancient theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe has a myriad of classical performances available to watch on its Globe Player streaming service.
Learn to cook in Borough Market
London’s oldest food market is streaming live into people’s kitchens with a series of online cooking classes. On the official Borough Market instagram page (@boroughmarket), cooks and food writers are going live to show viewers how to make everything from sourdough pizza to fresh, summery salads.
Join a virtual choir
The Self Isolation Choir brings together singers from all over the world. Membership is £14.95 and includes live video rehearsals to prepare for a virtual performance of Handel’s Messiah on the 31st of May.
As the country has paused and London is quiet, now is the time to reflect on our activities and progress to date. What better way to visualise how far we’ve come than via a time-lapse film shot on location at The Broadway, SW1. We knew this project would be spectacular but seeing it rise from the ground is a truly exhilarating feeling. The camera has perfectly captured the exceptional design, planning, engineering and drive that it has taken to come this far in such a short space of time.
The Broadway is set to become London’s vibrant new residential quarter steeped in iconic architecture and a revival of Art Deco design. Retail outlets, office spaces, restaurants, bars and exquisite apartments with sensational views will collectively offer a fresh and exciting brand of luxury living here in the capital. To view the time-lapse of The Broadway, please click here.
In brighter news, we are incredibly proud to announce that we have appointed award-winning London-based luxury interior designer Natalia Miyar for the design of No. 1 Palace Street’s show apartment.
Named as one of Conde Nast’s House & Garden magazine’s Top 100 Designers, Natalia’s natural and learned ability to blend comfort with glamour has been honed through her transatlantic practice of architecture and interior design. We are delighted to be working with Natalia alongside our growing team of talented crafts people in creating truly spectacular homes in this historic address.
We look forward to inviting you to step inside our show apartment and welcoming the experience of No. 1 Palace Street over the summer. In the meantime, click the link below to listen to the interview with Natalia filled with her inspirations for the new design. Listen to Natalia’s Podcast here.
In order to remain connected, we are strengthening our online communications and evolving our digital presence. As you are unable to visit us in person, we are bringing the splendour of our developments to where you are instead. You can now enjoy a virtual tour of No. 1 Palace Street or The Broadway from the comfort of your living room. Book an online viewing with one of our specialist team members by clicking here.
As we enter our fifth week of lock-down here in the UK, we want to send a message of warmth and positivity to match spring’s sunny weather outdoors. We hope that Easter was a chance to connect with family, whether digitally or at home, and that some normality and celebration was found amid this extraordinary time.
At Northacre, we are navigating through this unprecedented climate mindfully and with faith. We continue to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our teams and now are adapting our schedules, as logically as we can, to avoid too much longer-term disruption. We remain optimistic that we will return to full operation soon, believing in the importance of keeping up morale and looking ahead to the future.
At our No.1 Palace Street development we continue to make good progress, albeit in challenging circumstances. In fact, we are still planning the launch of the stunning show apartment later this summer. As we throw open our doors in the coming months and everyday life resumes, exciting opportunities will be waiting.
Whilst we each work from the safety of our homes, staying respectful of our Government’s directive, we remind you that we are still here. And, until we are able to meet again, it is our promise to stay connected to you all.
CEO Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro
We always knew that The Broadway would offer the most spectacular views across the city and now that the core buildings are up making them a reality, we can appreciate how special they truly are. While the architecture will be considered iconic for generations to come, the amenities will be of exceptional standard and the interiors exquisitely designed, it really is the views here that will take your breath away. Because of this very reason, we have created The Broadway Collections -categorising our apartments by outlook rather than by building or by style. Across each of the six buildings there are six different perspectives on offer: Buckingham Palace Collection, Westminster Collection, Royal Parks Collection, Penthouse Collection, Big Ben and Botanical Collections. So, whether you prefer to feel a part of British pomp and pageantry, gaze across blossoming treetops or over Parliament to the skyline beyond, you can choose your dream apartment based on your favourite London view.
Buckingham Palace Collection
Your front row seat to the Royal Family and all of its fanfare. Sip your afternoon tea during the Changing of the Guards or be a part of the magnificent processions as they make their way down The Mall -this collection of apartments offers the most regal of The Broadway perspectives.
Westminster Collection
From your sanctuary high above, watch the bustle of Westminster as Londoners walk, shop, eat and laugh in the city’s historic streets. With incredible views of the Houses of Parliament and some of the most iconic buildings, both old and new, this collection celebrates Britain’s past, present and future.
Royal Parks Collection
With panoramas showcasing the lush greenery of St James’s Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens further still, this collection is named after the eight royal parks in the city. Lose yourself among the natural world of these ancient recreational spaces dotted throughout the cityscape.
Penthouse Collection
Offering 360-degree views from the stunning rooftop gardens, this collection is for those who want it all. From Buckingham Palace to St James’s Park across Mayfair to Big Ben, the London Eye and the breadth of Westminster, indulge in a vista of true extravagance as the world plays out beneath you.
Big Ben Collection
With a classic scene of one of London’s most famous landmarks, the Houses of Parliament’s iconic clock tower, this collection provides an uninterrupted view of Big Ben. Throw your curtains open each morning and drink in the history of Great Britain.
Botanical Collection
High above the activity of the square below, take your time to enjoy the vibrant public art and beautiful landscaped greenery that perfectly decorate the spaces between the buildings at The Broadway.
From a portfolio of exciting options, which Broadway Collection would you like to call your own? Contact our sales team to find out more about Westminster’s vibrant new quarter and to secure an apartment with the most enviable of London views.
Email: simon@northacre.com
First the Brexit freeze, now the post-Brexit thaw. According to a recent Land Registry report, the average price of a London home is just £5,000 shy of 2017’s all-time high. Elsewhere, Knight Frank notes a spike in residential demand with the number of prospective buyers hitting a 15-year weekly high in the first two weeks of January alone. With the first signs of green shoots appearing, we invited Northacre’s head of sales, Simon Edwardson, and Robert Windsor, director and co-founder of Mayfair-based Clifton Property Partners, to discuss how the Brexit years took their toll on the London property market and what the future holds under a new Conservative government.
“We operate in a market which isn’t necessarily ‘needs’ based and consequently with all the uncertainty that the referendum result brought, many buyers adopted a wait and see approach,” recalls Robert. “In reality though, it wasn’t so much the ‘B’ word but the ‘C’ word and the threat of the Corbyn government in the London market. That said, along the way, there were some extraordinary headline deals at record levels. Stock levels remain low and buyer sentiment is up, so we believe it will be business as usual from here-on-in!”
“The Conservative win in 2019 gave the market instance confidence,” notes Simon. “We have done very well in the last couple of months taking over £60 million worth of sales across No.1 Palace Street and The Broadway, which is amazing considering both products are off-plan. Other developers that are seeing success have completed stock but I believe that buyers really understand the quality that we are offering and are jumping right in.”
Simon continues: “In hindsight, I think the biggest issue for us was that the Brexit dates kept changing as to when that decision would be finalised. This held everyone back. Then, we had to contend with talk of increased Stamp Duty reforms, which created further uncertainty, causing buyers to delay on making a decision to invest.”
“Speaking of Stamp Duty, you will have seen the CPS study last year pushed for a comprehensive reform to the tax?” asks Robert. “It tallied with Boris Johnson’s pre-election hints that he was set to remove SDLT for buyers up to £500,000 and reverse George Osbourne’s 2014 hikes on more expensive homes which, for all intents and purposes ground the property market to a halt. An increase of 3% on top of current levels would be extraordinarily damaging to the market, but I believe (hope!) that the chancellor will reverse the 2014 changes and add 3% to those levels meaning buyers at the very highest level would pay 10%.”
“Luckily, the curve has always pointed in an upward trajectory and property prices stabilised rather than fell in the years following the general election,” adds Robert. “When we refer to the peak of the market, these are typically short periods of between 6 months and a year where prices ‘spike’ owing to unusual levels of demand and low stock levels. We saw this in 2007 and 2014 and I believe 2020 will be a market where prices will hold firm and we will see an increase in the number of units sold. The lead up to Christmas and January overall were extraordinarily busy for us. We are seeing a lot of renewed interest from those buyers who have been sitting on the fence for the past three years, now ready to commit as well as new interest from a mixture of international and domestic.”
Turning to the three and a half years between the Brexit result and last December’s General Election when the international markets were understandably cautious, Simon says: “Historically we used to see specific demographics come forward from the Middle East, Asia, Russia… Not just those countries obviously as we have a much wider reach, but we have seen the Middle East step back a little bit, while Asia has continued to have an interest in London residential.”
Adding that more customers from Europe and the UK are now buying into The Broadway and No.1 Palace Street, Simon continues: “In terms of post-Brexit investment potential, Westminster is a safe bet. I think even before Brexit, JLL and the other agents were predicting a 16% growth in Westminster alone. The fact that they made their forecast before the Conservatives were re-elected says a lot. SW1 is one of the only areas to have shown good growth over a five-year period and with political certainty, it can only get better.”
“I would agree,” notes Robert. “Furthermore, now that the UK has officially left the EU, I’m cautiously optimistic about the future. I don’t think prices will escalate sharply, but with increased global and domestic demand coupled with distinctly low stock levels, I’d like to think we will see more churn, particularly if transactional costs are re-evaluated.”
“Ah yes, but let’s not forget that Brexit is still in play and a good deal still needs to be negotiated,” counters Simon. “The mechanics of what is actually done behind the scenes is key and how that will affect us remains to be seen. We have gone from quite a flat level playing field to a spike, which would be difficult to sustain. Once things have settled down, we will have a better idea as to the future of the UK property market.”
Welcome to the February edition of the Northacre Journal and the first of the new decade. With our two flagship developments nearing their completion dates, 2020 was always going to be a milestone year and we have certainly started it off on a high. Since January 1st we have closed more than £60m in sales at No. 1 Palace Street and The Broadway -a fantastic achievement that is fuelling great optimism for the future of the property market in London. After some uncertainty, the resilience of the market is clear and the recent return of investor confidence in the capital is reassuring.
In this month’s Journal, myself and Rob Windsor, Director of Clifton Property Partners, talk through the weeks that have followed the general election and the UK leaving the EU and what effects we’ve seen as a result. Although we remain cautiously optimistic, it is exciting seeing such a sharp increase in demand and market activity.
We are pleased to introduce our readers to The Broadway Collections. With sensational views on offer from every apartment at The Broadway, buyers can choose their dream apartment from the panorama before them when the curtains are drawn. Wake to scenes across historic Westminster of London’s iconic skyline beyond or lose yourself in the regal world of Buckingham Palace below. There are views that sweep across the Royal Parks or those that showcase the majesty of Big Ben. Which Broadway Collection would you like to call your own?
Finally, as with every edition, we give our top tips on things to do in the city over the coming weeks. As Winter releases its icy grip and the weather begins to warm, we look forward to more events and more time spent outdoors. We hope you enjoy the read and we’ll be in touch again in the Spring.
The February Diary
For the eternal optimist, the mere sight of a snowdrop in any of London’s Royal Parks heralds the start of spring. Whatever the season, the capital is abuzz with new happenings. Those with a penchant for rare orchids are in for a treat at Kew Gardens Orchids Festival (March 8th). But if automobiles are more your thing, the V&A’s Cars: Accelerating the Modern World exhibition runs until April 19th. Meanwhile, Collect, The International Art Fair for Modern Craft and Design opens at Somerset House (Feb 27th – March 1st). Displaying the work of 400 artists from over 40 galleries spanning three continents, it is the perfect place to pick up a rare piece for the home. Might we also suggest:
The Tiffany Blue Box Café
Who can forget the opening scene in Breakfast at Tiffany’s when Audrey Hepburn gazes longingly into the windows of the celebrated jewellers, croissant and coffee cup in hand. Well, now you can enjoy breakfast at Tiffany’s in the literal sense, courtesy of Tiffany’s new Blue Box Café at Harrods. Here, breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner are served against a backdrop of Tiffany Blue. Cocktail dress and pearls are optional of course.
The Tiffany Blue Box Café, Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road
Andy Warhol at Tate Modern
In this the first major Warhol retrospective at Tate Modern in two decades (March 12th – September 6th), over 100 works including iconic pop images of Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola bottles and Campbell’s soup cans come under the spotlight. Warhol aficionados can also view previously unseen works including a rarely loaned 1980’s portrait of Debbie Harry and immerse themselves amongst the artist’s interactive Silver Clouds installation.
Tate Modern, Bankside
Gymkhana
At last the wait is over! Gymkhana, the much-loved Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, returns to Mayfair. As part of the impressive redesign, the interior, all jade green and dark polished wood, takes its cue from colonial British/Indian members’ clubs. Executive chef, Jitin Joshi, continues to steer the menu, which focuses on bold pan-Indian flavours. The Chettinad Duck Dosa with Coconut Chutney and Duck Egg Langoustine Bhurji with Malabar Paratha come highly recommended.
Gymkhana, 42 Albemarle Street
Lanserhof At The Arts Club
More NASA science lab than gym, German wellness brand Lanserhof’s new Mayfair outpost boasts its own team of in-house doctors, cardiologists, nutritionists and personal trainers. It is the only private health club in the country to own an MRI scanner, which will scour the body for pesky visceral fat. In the dedicated spine lab, patients wearing virtual reality headsets are rolled around on the Icaros, a futuristic contraption, which slowly stretches the upper body and checks for any skeletal issues. Brace yourself!
Lanserhof At The Arts Club, 17-18 Dover Street
At Northacre we believe that a home is more than just bricks and mortar, it is the foundation for living a fulfilled life. Over the last 30 years we have learnt first-hand what London’s discerning homeowners long for in their places of residence. So, with every site that we choose, every building we meticulously restore, and every home that we craft, we apply that knowledge and put the living experience at the core of each decision.
During October and November, we have been working on building a suite of visual content that captures the exquisite lifestyle that a Northacre home offers. We are excited to be sharing a behind the scenes sneak peek captured on location for No. 1 Palace Street and look forward to revealing our film with you in the New Year.
At Northacre we believe that a home is more than just bricks and mortar, it is the foundation for living a fulfilled life. Over the last 30 years we have learnt first-hand what London’s discerning homeowners long for in their places of residence. So, with every site that we choose, every building we meticulously restore, and every home that we craft, we apply that knowledge and put the living experience at the core of each decision.
During October and November, we have been working on building a suite of visual content that captures the exquisite lifestyle that a Northacre home offers. We are excited to be sharing a behind the scenes sneak peek captured on location for No. 1 Palace Street and look forward to revealing our film with you in the New Year.
Commencing on a bright autumnal morning, the film and photography crew followed a couple as they go about an idyllic ‘day in the life of’ when living at No.1 Palace Street. From yoga in St. James Park to meandering through the iconic streets of Mayfair to enjoying downtime in the luxurious residences, the content transports viewers to London living at its best.
This new content has been made for those who aspire for more than just a home, but for an exceptional living experience.