Property market out of flavour...but 4.25 to 1.25 that is an over reaction surely!

Lancaster Gate - dubbed the Lancasters is one of their projects in London. Are property prices falling in London...

From The Sunday Times
February 17, 2008
Super-rich snap up apartments in world's most expensive residential scheme

RECESSION, what recession? The super-rich are snapping up apartments at the world's most expensive residential scheme at Londons One Hyde Park as if they were going out of fashion.

According to data released exclusively to The Sunday Times, half of the 80 apartments at the luxury scheme designed by Richard Rogers have already been contracted to be sold even though the project will not be completed until 2010. Knight Frank, one of the estate agents handling the Knightsbridge development, said sales already totalled more than 500m and the average apartment price had reached 20m.

Wealthy oil barons, Russian oligarchs and hedge-fund managers are shelling out at prices that break down to almost 6,000 per square foot for the chance to own one of the apartments. That figure is up from 4,000 per square foot in late 2006.

The sales reflect Londons status as a global city, with 39% of the buyers hailing from Russia, 25% from the Middle East, 14% from Britain and 11% from continental Europe. The highest price paid for an apartment at the scheme is rumoured to be more than 100m. The interiors are the work of Candy & Candy, the interior design company run by Nick and Christian Candy, two brothers in their early thirties who have become multi-millionaires by creating fantasy homes for people with limitless budgets.

The site will have an underground passage to the nearby Mandarin Oriental hotel, where staff will be on hand to cater to residents needs.

CPC, the Guernsey-based investment company owned by Christian Candy, has an equity stake of more than a third in One Hyde Park. The scheme is also backed by Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim Jaber al-Thani, foreign minister of the Gulf state of Qatar.

Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, said sales of so-called super-prime homes in London worth 10m or above had more than doubled in the three months to the end of January compared with the same period last year.

He said: It is quite extraordinary the way the super-prime market has continued to surge ahead. Sales of homes worth 1m-5m have slowed, but once you get above 5m, and certainly above 10m, they are still powering ahead.

Billionaire tycoon Caudwell scents property opportunity
Billionaire tycoon John Caudwell, who founded the Phones4u retail chain, is piling into Britain's beleaguered commercial property market in a sign that some investors believe that prices may be bottoming out.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/3982618/Billionaire-tycoon-Caudwell-scents-property-opportunity.html

this is classical taking a small step back before the clean breakthrough

not expecting many more buy opps below 15p, waiting for this to rocket northwards in 2009

bottomed out, only a matter of time IMHO

Large trades/volume

Kifin now crossed above 29% holding, this should really hot up now

having already bottomed out, these are building momentum and look prime to attack and breakthrough 15p this time, come on let's see if there will be a bid now...

any other views

Looks good, but I have bad gut feeling so will give it a miss

waking up, getting excited

looks like this about to explode northwards

still great opp to get in before it really rockets north

still alot more to come

keep this high on your watchlist

Scarr are you on the board ? if not you should be for your efforts.

of course not on the board lol

Sorry, my enthusiasm looking at the fundamentals and chart of this company, make me want to shout about it, guess you were suggesting I post too much? Ok no more posting by me, and all the best to MNR holders.

No problem Scarr I was joking if you have a feeling for a stock go with it

Scarr You keep posting EVERYONE is entitled to there opinion,I will go along with you that a bid will come,the only thing is i do not understand why they did not take up the 165p offer from Limitless ?
I have been buying this for a time current holding 200k @ 12p average,I will be holding until there is some news.
I am as excited as you are,fingers crossed

Good luck Scarr we need all the good news we can get.

700202, I think it was more a case of Limitless walking away from the bid offer:-

"On 21 July 2008 Minerva announced that it had received a proposal from Limitless to acquire Minerva at 160 pence in cash per Minerva share. On 17 September 2008, Minerva announced that negotiations between the parties were ongoing and that Limitless required third party consents as a waivable pre-condition to an announcement of an offer for Minerva. As a result of being unable to obtain the necessary consents on terms satisfactory to Limitless, Limitless announces that it no longer intends to make an offer for Minerva."

It does look increasingly likely that Kifin may make an offer, which will probably be quite low, but they should do it sooner rather than later; the longer they leave it, the more they may have to pay! No complaints there though!