Crown jewels

The top of the top London market is a sector apart, and those looking for best in show have an exceptional – if not extensive – choice. Whatever the local and international headwinds, there’s always an appetite for what’s on offer. 

“These properties are as sought after as can be,” says Rupert des Forges, Head of Prime Central London Development at Knight Frank. “Nevertheless, all the most exclusive projects currently on the market have continued to see reservations from buyers round the world.” 

Many of these buyers are attracted to London for its heritage and, in this regard, the OWO – the Old War Office – could not have a more impressive pedigree. Moments from Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, the Grade II* listed Edwardian building once housed the offices of Lord Kitchener, Lloyd George and Winston Churchill – as well as that of James Bond’s boss, M. Developers, the Hinduja Group, undertook the monumental task of transforming its honeycomb of marbled corridors and panelled rooms into a “luxury citadel in the city,” introducing 85 indulgent apartments (from £3,950,000) to accompany the UK’s first Raffles Hotel, 11 restaurants and the city’s largest ballroom. 

Buyers have been quick to recognise its appeal, and over a third of the units – with an average sale price of between £10m and £15m – have now gone. “Purchasers, many from the US, really appreciate the history,” says Charlie Walsh, The OWO’s Head of Residential Sales and Marketing, “particularly when it’s accompanied by the 5*-plus service offered by the Raffles Hotel alongside exciting public space and extensive private facilities”. 

Another project which has successfully linked past and present is 8 Eaton Lane, sandwiched between Buckingham Palace and Belgravia. Originally commissioned by the 1st Duke of Westminster in the 1860s as Belgrave Mansions, at the time it operated as the city’s first serviced apartments. Developers CIT have now taken its imposing French-inspired façade and entirely reworked what lies behind, introducing 42 sleek one-to-five-bedroom flats (from £1,625,000) and 7,000 sq ft of enviable downtime amenities. 

“We’ve sold 45 per cent of the apartments,” say Henry Barrow, CIT’s Sales Director. “A high proportion have been bought by local residents looking to downsize as their adult children leave home.”  

The Whiteley London, in Bayswater’s Queensway, has not only rescued an iconic building, but, in doing so, has helped launch the capital’s newest village, filling in the final piece of the prime-property landscape north of Hyde Park. 

Here, luxury homes specialists Finchatton (acting for property investment firm MARK and Hong Kong developer CC Land) approached Foster + Partners to reinvent one of London’s historic department stores as 139 townhouses and apartments (from £1,680,000), new shops and restaurants, a cinema and a gym. 

“Although it only launched in 2022, The Whiteley is already 50 per cent sold,” says des Forges. “Investors really get the regeneration story of W2.” They also clearly ‘get’ the accompanying attractions of the Six Senses Spa, which new owners have exclusive access to, the first in the UK. 

Many of those buying in The Whiteley are locals looking for a covetable lifestyle with a cool urban edge, and it is also ideally situated for ultra-high-net-worth global buyers who want something luxurious, yet discreetly located. 

The Glebe in Chelsea (from £27,300,000) is equally in demand. The more-than-generous apartments (plus two villas) with their sky-high ceilings and vast lateral expanses have been individually designed by some of the world’s most celebrated interior designers (Mlinaric, Henry and Zervudachi, Jean-Louis Deniot and Douglas Mackie, among others) and surrounded by an acre of tranquil gardens designed by Chelsea gold medallist Tom Stuart-Smith. 

“Nothing is production line,” says David Salkin, a director of developers Orion Capital, “but what our buyers prize above all is the safety and discretion.” Tucked away behind tall gates, the development has its own dedicated concierge team and 24-hour security, benefits that have encouraged some of the world’s wealthiest to pay prices which have broken records for the Royal Borough. “These are the capital’s most exclusive properties. In this ultra-prime market, you can’t even count these developments on one hand,” says Salkin.  

And the supply is certainly not growing. “After a strong 24 months in the super-prime development market, many of the marque schemes are all but sold out with several live schemes passing 50 per cent sold,” says des Forges. “Though a few new projects are launching in the near future – 60 Curzon Street and One Carrington Street in Mayfair, for example, and 100 George Street in Marylebone and Allen House in Kensington – by 2026 there will be just a few hundred consented, under construction or delivered apartments left in the super-prime development pipeline.” 

The quest for ‘just the right’ London base will be challenging for those seeking plenty of room since the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council (which decides what can be built in Mayfair, Belgravia and Marylebone) have currently ruled that individual units cannot exceed 200 sq m. 

“We’re going to see a significant drop-off of availability in the super-prime development arena and an increasing sense of missing out,” says des Forges. Unsurprisingly, his advice is to buy now. 

For more on these properties contact PCLD@knightfrank.com to make an enquiry.