When did you purchase your first property, how did you raise the capital and where was it?
I bought my first flat when I was about 26, I very much wanted to get on the property ladder. I literally beg, stole and borrowed in order to get enough money and I managed to acquire a garden flat in Camden Town.
What was the trigger that made you realise there was a significant gap in the market?
I graduated and went into advertising and I became a Director of Saatchi & Saatchi and Young and Rubicam advising blue chip clients like Heinz and Kelloggs. I had always had this interest in property alongside and what I found was that I was able to maximise the profit returns on those properties through buying well and doing up well and that really set my interest in setting up a new business I suppose to match my entrepreneurial streak and use all my strategic disciplines I had learnt through advertising. I realised that there was a gap in the market in terms of professional help for an investor, particularly an international investor, getting into the market. There was gazumping and investors needed assistance to find a property, to get it renovated and ultimately to get it let and managed. So it was an obvious one stop solution to help the buyer and that was just a concept that didn’t exist at all.
Could you tell us a bit more about what LCP/PrivateOffice does
I founded LCP/PrivateOffice in 1989, one of the first residential agencies in the UK acting in the interest of the buyer, in a market then dominated by estate agents. We help investors and homeowners across the globe looking to buy, refurbish, let and manage property in London. Our service is unique. Every property we propose to our client is underpinned by a sophisticated financial model.
Our breadth of service is distinctive to the market. We have a team of interior designers and architects creating stylish interiors – everything from minor upgrades to full-scale renovations, for investment properties to magnificent townhouses. For investors, LCP/PrivateOffice in-house letting and property management team secures the best tenants and ensures smooth running tenancies and for homeowners, we provide a fully comprehensive concierge service.
We have an outlook of a family office; we are not purely transactional and act throughout the whole lifecycle of our client’s property ownership.
Can you describe your typical client and their financial profile?
Our client base is broad and varied. Our investor clients are generally high net worth or ultra high net worth, they might be individuals or family offices. They are sophisticated or professional investors who understand the role of London property as an alternative asset class, as an uncorrelated investment to equities and want to broaden and diversify their portfolios. They are smart investors who like to delegate.
We also represent first-time buyers and young families who need help getting onto the property ladder or finding their dream home. These clients often come to us after they have tried to find something themselves and now appreciate the importance of a professional representative working on their behalf, helping them gain access to best-in-class properties that are not always on the market.
Some of our clients do not live in the UK so they often need a trustful pair of eyes and boots on the ground to help them find either the best investment or home.
What are your recommendations when it comes to investment in the UK and what are your market forecasts based on your experience?
The London property market is notoriously challenging, there are 32 boroughs in London and they all have different characteristics. This means London offers a plethora of investment opportunities if you know where to find them. Therefore, we would recommend instructing a professional buying agent to help you find these opportunities and advise you on where to invest, what to buy and negotiate the biggest price discounts for you.
With the current economic climate in the UK, now is the time to be a cash buyer. Our clients are either cash buyers or using small amounts of debt finance.
A smart buyer will be buying this year whilst prices are currently suppressed, and transactions are low.
Tell us about your new venture?
It was at LCP/PrivateOffice that I observed the rapidly changing lifestyle of millennial tenants who were looking for smaller apartments with more aspirational interiors and services on demand, in the very centre of London – wanting to be ‘where its at’. At the other end of the spectrum, I could see hotel guests looking for a greater sense of place and wanting to feel like a local. I spotted the opportunity to mash this all together and rethink the hospitality sector – whatever the length of stay. That’s when I created The Other House.
LCP/PrivateOffice partnered up with a world-renowned Dutch-based pension fund in 2019 to acquire Harrington Hall Hotel in South Kensington, and more recently the Wellington Block in Covent Garden and another site in Belgravia.
I stepped down as CEO at LCP/PrivateOffice and now act as Chair with Liam Monaghan, Managing Director, now running the company.
What is next for LCP/PrivateOffice?
LCP/PrivateOffice have had an exciting year. Our team have been busy travelling to New York, Miami, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong, to name a few, speaking to private banks, clients, the press and prospective buyers about the opportunities that exist in London property currently. There is certainty still strong overseas demand for London property.
Following a surge in domestic and overseas demand for luxury new build homes, we have recently expanded our services and added new build property searches across London to our remit, offering clients exclusive access to only the best in class developments.
LCP/PrivateOffice is now planning a programme of business expansion, building on its diverse expertise in the marketplace, while remaining true to its core values of client service.
