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.

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!

Get out if you are in profit. Commercial property is going to have a seriously bad time over the next few years.

had to nibble again at this low price

yeah me too, I understand that they are trying to sell and leaseback some buildings with a price of est 50m+, i reckon ill hold until at least some further developments on that

Property Sector is indeed in the doldrums, however market cap of 25M for MNR is surely way undervalued, kifin with 29% or someone else will take these over at this bargain basement price IMHO, so looking for this to explode north.

Lancasters was over 27% sales secured - correct?

Cash was around 117M when last reported?

Surely some more rich Arabs other than Dubai Investment, must be interested in these, not only has the MKT Cap fallen from 600M to 25M but also the exchange rate makes buying in the UK approx 30% cheaper than a year ago.

they have more CASH than their Market Cap, and also property/assets that they can sell off, somebody with the buying power could just buy this company and sell it off in pieces surely for a handsome profit?

thefall think this is what you were referring to in your post 130

from property week

'Minerva HQ on market
13.02.09
Minerva is marketing its plush London West End headquarters in a bid to raise funds

The listed London developer has instructed Franc Warwick to sell 42 Wigmore Street and the neighbouring 5 Welbeck Street, in which government department the Rent Service is the tenant.

The asking price for the long leasehold of the 41,400 sq ft block is 51m a net initial yield of 5.62%.

Minerva, whose shares are trading at 17.5p, from a high of 143p in February last year, plans to lease back its 12,887 sq ft of offices at 75/sq ft. It also hopes to sell its Kensington Odeon site for potential residential development.

Jones Lang LaSalles central London market research shows that average West End rents fell by 11.6% from 107.50/sq ft to 95/sq ft in the fourth quarter of 2008. Taking incentives into account, net effective rents are 79.90/sq ft.

However, it is predicted that rents have fallen further now and are as low as 75/sq ft on the best space in Mayfair and St Jamess.

At the 28,551 sq ft 5 Welbeck Street, the Rent Service is paying at 72.10/sq ft until 2017. '