April 2020 - Spear's Magazine

Hide and Hedonism invite ‘guests’ to a virtual wine dinner

The Mayfair restaurant and wine boutique invite diners to a virtual four-course dinner with head sommelier Julien Sarrasin

Saul Empson

Saul Empson looks after the London equation of Haringtons. It’s a patch he’s been familiar with since he operated in Holland Park and South Kensington for Stickley and Kent in the Eighties. These days around 90 per cent of the properties he buys are in the ‘golden rectangle’ between Richmond and Hampstead. A ‘dull’ year was swiftly made exciting by the general election result. ‘It speaks volumes that Jeremy Corbyn has managed to substantially damage the property market without being in office,’ he tells Spear’s. The former car racer can be found around town on his 500cc scooter, on which he covers 10,000 miles a year.

Hannah Aykroyd

Former VanHan director Hannah Aykroyd’s eponymous firm might be barely two years old, but it has already developed a reputation for unearthing exceptional off-market opportunities for clients. ‘Our mantra is to be looking after a small number of good clients who we can properly look after for the long term,’ she tells Spear’s.

Ed Tryon

Ed Tryon set up Lichfields in 2007, and it has since perfected the art of acquiring high-value newbuilds in prime central London, accruing £250 million-worth of off-plan acquisitions since 2012. ‘Our average ticket size has historically been around £8 million, the highest value has been just under £60 million, and we start at about a million,’ Tryon elaborates. In recent times, however, he has felt loath to tell buyers to commit. ‘The twin headwinds of Brexit and the uncertainty about the change in government has made it extremely difficult to advise with any level of confidence,’ he says. However, the new year heralded a change in fortunes at Lichfields. Although this upswing has yet to be translated into deal flow, appetite is there, says Tryon: ‘The certainty and optimism that is currently prevailing has been sorely absent in recent times. I’m more positive than I have been any time in the last 36 months.’ However, the property market is not out of the woods yet, with the Treasury standing firm on the troublesome issue of stamp duty. Tryon says he is met by looks of incredulity when he tells clients about the 15 per cent stamp duty on acquisition, so the prospect of an extra 3 per cent surcharge on non-UK taxpayers doesn’t bode well.

Caroline Takla

The Collection has just had its tenth anniversary, and founder Caroline Takla’s drive to find the best property deals in London shows no sign of wavering. ‘In the last 12 months, we saved our clients an average of 30 per cent off the asking price. Many of our competitors are hovering around 7-10 per cent,’ she says.

Month: April 2020