Indians Rescue London’s Property Bubble British Land Projects Delayed

Britain’s property agents are now targeting an estimated 1.25-lakh Indian dollar millionaires, who are expected to invest nearly $30 billion ( Rs. 1.2 lakh crore) over the next decade in London properties. Enquiries have come in for luxury homes worth more than 500,000 pounds in some cases — that is more than Rs. 4 crore each.

Some agents like Berkley Homes are flying in senior executives to make direct contacts with would-be buyers in India to woo them to London, particularly to addresses like Knightsbridge and Kensington or places like Hampstead and St. John’s Wood, which have an abundance of Indians.

British Land is delaying starting building the “Cheesegrater” tower in the City of London in the hope of launching the skyscraper in time for the peak of the next commercial property cycle.

The UK’s second biggest property company expects the building will be completed by 2012, a year later than originally planned, but is reluctant to commit itself to a firm date. It also hopes to negotiate a cheaper construction contract for the building, despite recent evidence that building material prices have soared by 12 per cent this year and are forecast to continue to climb

Category: Property News