Hedge funds priced out

Bloomberg has reported how wealthy foreigners and landlords are pricing hedge funds out of their favoured London locations.

Wealthy buyers are picking up properties in Mayfair and St James’s and landlords are ramping up rents so high that even the financial elite cannot afford to pay. Bloomberg said properties that might have been offices were being converted into homes costing at least £2,000 sq ft. Its news service compiled data showing hedge funds lost nearly 3% of their value in May as they struggled to cope with the implications of the European crisis. Cushman & Wakefield figures show the proportion of hedge fund managers in central London based in Mayfair or St James’s had dropped from 70% five years ago to 50%.

09-06-2012