Grosvenor Street in Mayfair
The age of aristocrats is not over yet, at least in Great Britain. According to «Lenta.ru», two-thirds of the land in the country belongs to 189,000 families. The largest landowner is the Duke of Buccleuch, who owns over 112,000 British hectares.
Family Estates
The family estates of the nobility emerged as a result of land divisions. The first such division occurred during the time of William the Conqueror (11th century), who seized lands and appropriated them for himself and his supporters. The second division occurred during the time of Henry VIII (16th century), who dissolved the monasteries and distributed ten million acres of freed territories to barons – supporters of the new church, free from Rome's influence. The king and his heirs began to distribute free lands to loyal subjects. It was from the former church possessions that the family estates of the nobility began to form. The third major redistribution of land took place during Cromwell's time (17th century).
“In the UK, all apartments are sold with leasehold ownership,” explains Oksana Salfali, managing director of London Relocation Consultancy. “As for a house or a plot of land, the investor has the right to acquire freehold ownership. Since London is developing rapidly, more and more investors are purchasing land for development or ready-made properties, thereby becoming freehold owners, meaning landowners.”
Most of the houses and business properties that are freehold today (unconditional ownership of real estate under English law) originate from large owners' estates that sold small plots of land to property developers. Estates were sometimes merged, most often as a result of marriage of convenience, and sometimes, on the contrary, divided. Aristocrats improved plots for living and leased them on leasehold (a type of land lease, the second of the two main historically established types of property ownership in the country) for long terms, for example, 99 years, to wealthy tenants.
Currently, four major landowning families are distinguished in London – the Grosvenors, the Cadogans, the Barons Howard de Walden, and the Portmans. These estates are hundreds of years old. The family lands are managed by companies. The Portman Estate manages the lands and properties of the Portmans, Cadogan – of the Cadogans, The Howard de Walden Estate – of the Howard de Waldens, and Grosvenor Estate – of the Grosvenors.
The Grosvenors own about 120 hectares of land, including areas in the most prestigious districts of London. Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the sixth Duke of Westminster, with a fortune of $13 billion, owns land in the fashionable London districts of Mayfair, Belgravia and Knightsbridge, and agricultural land in the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, and also in Scotland.
In Mayfair, the Grosvenors own properties on Mount Street, Grosvenor Street, North Audley Street, Duke Street and Park Street; in Belgravia – on Eaton Square, Motcomb Street, Elizabeth Street, Pimlico Road and Ebury Street. All tenants of London mansions and luxury apartments regularly pay the Grosvenors.
The Cadogans once owned most of Chelsea. Now Cadogan Estates owns land in the areas of Cadogan Square, Sloane Street and King's Road in Chelsea, as well as in Knightsbridge. The company owns residential and commercial properties. In Chelsea, Cadogan Estates owns several hundred apartments and houses, continually expanding its portfolio.
The Howard de Walden Estate owns about 40 hectares in Marylebone, including streets from Portland Place to Marylebone High Street and from Marylebone Road to Wigmore Street. The company's portfolio consists mainly of Georgian-era buildings – both residential and commercial.
The end of last year was marked by major purchases. In November 2014, Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra became the owner of the famous 'Gherkin' (building 30 St. Mary Axe), paying £725 million. In December 2014, Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega bought for £265 million a building on St. James's Square, where the headquarters of the mining and metals concern Rio Tinto is located.
The Portman Estate owns more than 40 hectares between Oxford Street, Edgware Road and Marylebone Road, as well as Chiltern Street, Seymour Place and New Quebec Street. The land owned by The Portman Estate is located west of Marylebone High Street.
Given that the property has been owned by the same families for several centuries, long-term vision becomes important for the families. The short-term horizon is at least 20 years, medium-term – 50, long-term – 80-100 years.
There are also new large estates in Soho, Earls Court and Canary Wharf, which are only a few decades old. For example, the company Soho Estates owns a significant part of Soho. At the head of the structure is John James, son-in-law of the late billionaire Paul Raymond, who was called the 'king of Soho'. James acts in the interests of his daughters – Fawn and India-Rose James, Raymond's heirs.
Entertainment venues often end up in private hands. For example, English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber owns six theaters in the West End.
Read the continuation of the article:
MASTERS OF LONDON (part 2)