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.

Finished up 20% I'm holding from 6p so happy to hold.

24p next stop

progressing well

my other holdings LOOK are doing well and TFC is starting to motor

I like battered sectors namely property and transport

What are you likely to have for breakfast tomorrow?

Egg & bacon.

Nice chart forming back to 25p soon.

Large sells going through, no news to support the recent rise, so no surprise this is falling back equally as quick.

Could soon have to change the topic heading to Minerva Overvalued

still cheap.

Yasmine disappeared, now mitzy bailing out, bet lots of people bought on the impulse recently, now left holding the baby, when will people learn that they need to do more research before they part with their hard-earned money!

Is this yet another pump and dump for dummies?

Big borrowings. Outlook for commercial property is v poor.

maybe worth a look in July if this is still around IMHO

lol.

UK Small Caps
Tuesday May 12, 04:29 PM
Croydon scraps Minerva shopping centre deal

LONDON (ShareCast) - Croydon council has told real estate firm Minerva (LSE: MNR.L - news) it is cancelling its contract to develop the ADVERTISEMENT


Park Place shopping centre after almost a decade of waiting.

It says it's become clear that Minerva won't be able to come up with a town centre development that meets planning permission granted five years ago and which expired last week.

The terms of an agreement between the two, struck in December 2004, required Minerva to submit a strategy for securing funding.

But the company has been hunting for a new joint venture partner since March 2008 after Lend Lease (Munich: 858788 - news) pulled out of the deal without success.

"It has become all too apparent that in the present economic climate there is virtually no chance of Minerva bringing on board the partners it needs to make the retail scheme happen," said councillor Mike Fisher:

"We hope to continue amicable negotiations with Minerva to allow a fresh start with another partner who is capable of proceeding with a scheme that meets Croydon's needs and will bring John Lewis to the town."

He didn't rule out a compulsory purchase order for the land if Minerva doesn't play ball.

yes halifax, you need to watch out for pump and dump people like mitzy or others that try to scare you into selling your shares by predicting silly prices

Well you learn something new everyday dont you today I found out marni is a complete idiot.

if you put some punctuation in mitzy, that might make sense

impressive intra-day turnaround

Marni. Why would you think a stockholder would be influenced by a member of a internet board, unless he / she were a complete idiot.