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Business English: Ultra-wealthy home in on London attractions
The number of very high earners in the UK capital has risen almost 60 % in four years.It might take an annual income of more than £400,000 to feel rich in London but to live the life of the capital's true plutocracy takes an almost unimaginable multiple of that sum.
Mind-boggling as the -stipends of the super-rich may be, the ranks of London's highest earners have been swollen by almost 60 per cent in four years. Analysis of income tax records showed that 30,000 people had an income of more than £500,000 - the top 0.1 per cent of earners - compared with 19,000 in 2003-04.
Wealthy "non-domiciled" foreigners spend more than £16bn ($32bn, Euro22bn) a year on goods and services in the UK, almost the equivalent of the gross domestic product of Luxembourg, according to Stonehage, the wealth management group.
The result is a very 21st century "new servant class" that is making healthy amounts of cash itself in the process.
Robby Hilkowitz, executive director of Stonehage, argues that the capital's cadre of businesses is not simply an effect of the swelling ranks of the very rich but, in part at least, the cause. London is experiencing a "cluster effect" with wealthy people choosing to make their homes in the capital because of the benefits and services that have sprung up around the existing wealthy.
"I was talking to a colleague in Frankfurt recently and asked why there were not more super-rich families based there, given the business environment and he said it was 'because there's nowhere to spend their money'," Mr Hilkowitz said.
Where the ultra-rich really splash out is on prime property, with prices of houses in Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Chelsea rising by between 25 per cent and 35 per cent this year.
The strong price rises are giving the elite the confidence to invest heavily in their properties. "Our clients are concerned about value more than overall cost," says Robin Ellis, who cringes at the label of "London's poshest builder" that is often attached to him. "A number are fabulously wealthy but others are clearly spending their bonuses and though they have substantial budgets they are not limitless."
It is almost standard practice for the ultra-wealthy to buy a period central London home and gut it. Multi-million-pound revamps typically include security and panic rooms, multi-room audio-visual systems, kitchens capable of providing hotel-quality catering with walk-in cold rooms and banqueting halls.
"The biggest trend recently has been the basement boom," says Sandie Altman, managing director at Weldon Walshe, architects and interior designers. "Most clients whenever they buy a property now think 'I must go down'."
There are few requests that can raise Ms Altman's eyebrows. In addition to basements, the firm commonly instals retractable roofs to cover garden space in cold weather; hidden rooftop terraces; home cinemas with auditorium seating and, if there is space, the almost obligatory 20m-basement swimming pool.
Lavish dressing rooms are a common feature. Weldon Walshe recently designed one that incorporated an archival storage system for out-of-season clothes, based on dense storage systems used by libraries.
Perhaps the clearest example of a specialist business set up to cater for the very rich is Stonehage's own practice. However, Mr Hilkowitz argues that it has changed greatly to meet the demands of the international super-rich. For example, the company has developed a specialist philanthropy unit, because "it has to be part of the package now".
Clients, who increasingly tend to be entrepreneurs and business figures rather than families with inherited wealth, are highly knowledgeable and insist on a hands-on approach.
"You can no longer just tell them what shares to buy or to write out a cheque for their favourite charity," he says. "They want to make the decisions, they want to see the charity project and sit on a committee and oversee its development."
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FTD.de, 30.01.2008
© 2008 Financial Times Deutschland,
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