Unlike the yacht moored at Monte Carlo, where visibility is a big part of the point, purchasers of London’s penthouses keep a low profile. Equipped with panic rooms, air filters, high-tech alarm and entry systems and bulletproof glass, these exclusive properties attract both overseas and home-grown millionaires are seeking rarefied properties with world-class security.
London luxury penthouse
It takes more than just being at the top of a building to make a flat a penthouse. There are a number of prerequisites for a penthouse to be attractive to the Russian, Middle Eastern and British elite.
- Location – There needs to be a certain cache to the neighbourhood, but although very limited in supply, London offers a wide array of exclusive locations. Among the priciest options Knightsbridge (which has set Bulgari and One Hyde Park apart), a redevelopment in the heart of Soho (such as the Hat Factory) or Mayfair. The City, Canary Wharf and various south-of-the-river locations offer additional and sometimes less expensive options (even though a penthouse at the Shard close to London Bridge can cost as much as £50m). Even less ordinary are penthouses in North London upscale neighbourhoods such as Saint John’s Wood, Primrose Hill or Hampstead. One of the most prestigious locations yet to be developed is the Chelsea Barracks at the eastern boundary of Chelsea district, purchased in 2007 by Qatari Diar with developer Christian Candy for a record £959 million.
- View – it comes with location and with height – to be a true penthouse the view must be spectacular. Fortunately, the London cityscape is one of the best in the world.
- Design – size counts. Being at the top is important, but being bigger than the rest is definitive. Whether it is the large rooftop terrace, the huge floor-to-ceiling glass in the unusually tall rooms, or laying claim to the top two or even three floors makes a statement on a grand scale. The penthouses at Fitzroy Place are laterals or duplexes that dwarf the apartments on lower floors. The magic formula is having a large space at the top of a tall, striking building, designed by a top architect.
- Specification – only the very best will do, with state of the art multi-media, appliances, kitchens, bathrooms and lighting being prerequisites. Expect to find expanses of the finest marble, exotic wood floors and the plushest of carpeting.
Facilities – The penthouse needs to be different from the rest of the building or development. A sauna, library, private lift or entrance, space for guests and staff, and ample storage for the necessities of life.
Although some top-floor properties sold as penthouses cost less than £3m, the sky is almost literally the limit with the penthouse at One Hyde Park commanding a stellar £140m price tag. The average price of a prime central-London penthouse is around £13m.
Consider that of the 5,500 units under construction in inner London, just 2% are being marketed as penthouses; this is just over 100 units. Scarcity drives premiums up so much that penthouses can achieve a 60% price per square foot premium over the rest of a new development (we estimated that in other countries where penthouses are more common, such as Italy and Spain, the premium is between 20% and 40% over the average flat in the same building).
Despite the difficult economic climate, there are still almost 1500 billionaires and countless millionaires looking for exclusive, luxury properties, and London continues to provide. Numerous new developments, many with the intention of offering the best in top-flight living, are springing up across the city. London’s role as a global centre for finance and the gravity-defying heat in the London property market should mean that penthouses in the city are on the must-have list for the world’s most wealthy individuals. You probably won’t hear who bought the penthouse upstairs – chances are, the purchase was done very discretely, and the new owners will quietly impress only their immediate circles. But you have to be just a little impressed that someone lives there.
Some information contained in this post have been taken from a recent CBRE penthouse report.
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