Article: Luxury homes in Prime London with Residence One

Residence One, a luxury property developer that are funded by Close Brothers Property Finance, featured in Prime Resi and Premier magazines last month. "Residence One's knowledge of the super prime property market in Prime Central London's most exclusive postcodes is second to none. The team truly has their fingers on the pulse and knows exactly what features buyers at this end of the market expect when it comes to purchasing a home." Daniel Joyce, Deputy Managing Director told the publications.

Premier magazine piece:-

The market for luxury redeveloped properties in prime central London has proven remarkably resilient in the face of economic headwinds, with developer Residence One reporting more than 15 prospective buyers for each of its properties.

Part of the reason that the Prime Central London property market has held up better than the wider UK property market is due to the high proportion of cash buyers, who are insulated from rapid interest rate rises. With housebuilding at its lowest level since the pandemic, Residence One reports that three-quarters of transactions for its properties involve cash buyers.

Knight Frank’s Global Super Prime Intelligence Report shows a 20% increase in the number of transactions of London properties sold at £10m or above, rising from 45 in Q1 2023 to 54 in Q2 2023. The value of these transactions over the same period rose from £933million to £1,034million. A study by Savills shows that in the first nine months of 2023, 120 properties worth £10million and above were sold in the capital. This marks a 50% increase compared to the pre-pandemic average (in the three years leading up to 2019).

Ben Wilson, Director at Residence One, says: “The Prime Central London market has held up extremely well. The supply constraints in Prime Central London means we’re seeing consistently high demand for beautifully refurbished properties. We have built a strong reputation for quality and design and have achieved numerous records across our developments.

Close Brothers Property Finance has provided funding for the latest four development projects that Residence One has been working on. In a high interest rate environment and uncertain economy, many funders are cautious about lending to smaller developers and impose restrictions against lending above a certain square footage or value in prime locations, however Close Brothers has continued to support Residence One through the cycle.

Ben Wilson: “Close Brothers has always taken a very level-headed approach to lending, taking time to understand how they can best support our business objectives. There is a housing shortage across all sectors of the market, and more needs to be done to help housebuilders build, with Close Brothers playing a key part in solving this challenge.”

Daniel Joyce, Deputy Managing Director at Close Brothers Property Finance, comments: “We pride ourselves on our relationships with clients and our in-depth understanding of their markets, which is why we are able to operate as a through the cycle lender – helping our clients to build in the good and challenging times.

Residence One’s knowledge of the super prime property market in Prime Central London’s most exclusive postcodes is second to none. The team truly has their finger on the pulse and knows exactly what features buyers at this end of the market expect when it comes to purchasing a home, which is how they have been able to demand premium prices and have a queue of buyers for each property – which is some feat in the current market.”

Over the past 10 years Residence One has developed numerous properties across Prime Central London and currently has £200m worth of prime London residential developments in their pipeline, across both single and multi-unit schemes. The developments are located in Prime Central London’s most exclusive enclaves, including Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Kensington.

The customer base for their properties, which range in price from £1million to £25million per unit, comprises 60% international buyers and 40% domestic.

About Richmond-based Residence One

Residence One was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Richmond, led by Directors Ben Wilson & Katrina Graham. The team has successfully developed numerous record breaking single and multi-unit developments across London’s most prestigious postcodes. Current pipeline of developments under construction stands at £200m.

www.residenceone.co.uk