Property

The In-Demand London Locations To Bookmark For Rentals

As offices across London fill up and international audiences return, the capital is roaring back to its brilliant best. Summer in the city means park life, open-air dining and vibrant culture: London is buzzing once more.

As the city shakes off its lockdown lethargy, rental markets are buoyant. Average rental values in prime central London registered a 4.2% rise in the three months to October 2021, the highest quarterly figure since March 2011, with low supply and increasing demand adding a further 3.5% increase in the first three months of this year according to Knight Frank’s Prime London Rental Index.

We take a look at the super six areas of London where we have registered the strongest rental growth to understand their enduring appeal.

King’s Cross

A Regeneration Success Story In The City Centre

Welcome to one of central London’s most transformed areas where substantial investment has added new buildings and renovated historic warehouses to create a regenerated, diverse neighbourhood. Camden and Islington are near neighbours, Marylebone is to the west and Oxford Street is a level walk away. Excellent transport links - five tube lines and fourteen bus routes - make getting to every corner of the city a breeze, and there’s the bonus of wonderful rail connections with trains from St Pancras Station ready to whisk you to Kent, and even across to Europe on the magnificent Eurostar. Heathrow and Gatwick airports are around one hour away.

Cultural highlights within touching distance include the British Museum and British Library with Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks among its haul of 14 million books, while revamped restaurants and cafés make King’s Cross a perfect evening out. Don’t miss those on the cobbles of Coal Drops Yard, a “shopping and lifestyle district”. There’s a bustling student population – one reason why the nightlife is especially stirring and why rent demand is high – with Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design and the Central School of Ballet adding distinct artistic flair. Schools include King’s Cross Academy, Camden School for Girls and Queen’s College London, and for further family entertainment consider a stroll along Regents Canal or dodge the jet fountains on Granary Square.

Shops, boutiques, culture, nightlife and fun: there’s a reason why Google and Meta have moved into King’s Cross. This is London at its most exciting, still with a touch of its edgy past, but totally swinging.

Bayswater

A Cosmopolitan Neighbourhood With Genuine Community Spirit

Leafy garden squares, glorious Royal Parks, spacious apartments and some notable high-end developments: Bayswater offers a front row seat in central London with a decidedly green edge. This W2 postcode is centred around 350-acres of world-famous Hyde Park, established as a 16th Century hunting ground for King Henry VIII, and today a venue for summer picnics and spectacular music events. Row across the Serpentine, view the contemporary art in the Serpentine Galleries, watch the horses canter along Rotten Row or go for a jog. Elegant property options include classic white-stucco houses, apartments in 1930 mansion blocks, mews homes and superprime penthouses.

There are fine dining and designer shopping options nearby with Mayfair, Kensington and Knightsbridge all encircling Hyde Park, and the bright lights of Oxford Street are on hand.

Excellent transport connections include access to Heathrow airport, the Cotswolds and the West Country by road or by rail from nearby Paddington, and the long awaited Elizabeth Line should provide a real spur, connecting to Liverpool Street in the City in 10 minutes and Canary Wharf in 17 minutes.

Bayswater is a favourite with international families and the range of schools is pleasingly wide. Look at Weatherby Prep, Connaught House and Pembridge Hall for younger children, and for senior schools, International Community School and a little further afield, St Paul’s Boys and Girls Schools.

Wapping

A Return To City Offices Reinforces The Appeal Of Lofty Warehouse Conversions On The Thames

For far-reaching views along the Thames, taking in Tower Bridge, the Shard and the London skyline towards Westminster, head east to the converted warehouses of Wapping. On the northern banks of the river, Wapping’s south-facing views are magnetic, and for its many fans this urban waterfront area represents the very best of East London living. Unlike other nearby areas, which are awash with shiny high-rise apartments, Wapping is first and foremost a much-loved historic area with charming cobbled streets and artfully renovated Georgian warehouses, and an area where novelist Charles Dickens would call in regularly at The Prospect of Whitby, the city’s oldest pub. Wapping combines a maritime history with green spaces and a strong community spirit, and is where many of London’s earliest warehouse conversions were done, a beautiful blizzard of high ceilinged lofts, exposed bricks and industrial glamour.

Local transport options include London Overground trains to Canary Wharf, tube links from Tower Bridge and the DLR at Shadwell taking you straight to London City Airport, while cyclists jump on the cycle superhighway at Cable Street. This is a great location for anyone based in The City or Canary Wharf. As London returns to the office, demand for a base in Wapping has increased with resulting pressure on rents - while the marina at St Katharine Docks serves up plenty of restaurants and bars.

Schools include St Paul’s Whitechapel Primary, Hermitage Primary and top private schools of the two City of London Schools in the Barbican.

Canary Wharf

Perfecting The Work-Life Balance

A bustling financial district, a collection of tall glass towers, a place of work for thousands: all true descriptions of Canary Wharf. Yet it’s equally accurate to describe Canary Wharf as home to London’s largest collection of outdoor art, a hyper local neighbourhood with a passionately united community, and the venue for a culturally rich events programme headed up by the annual Winter Lights festival. Emerge from the Underground station – the Jubilee Line connects to central London in 15 minutes – to browse the shops, grab a table at one of the many stand-out restaurants or stroll along the waterfront.

There’s notable architecture. Among the modern towers, the gorgeous curves of One Park Drive are the first UK residential development by star-architects Herzog & de Meuron, while British architects Foster + Partners designed the futuristic Crossrail Place Gardens, the first Elizabeth Line station to be completed.

Families are joining the young professionals who have always appreciated Canary Wharf’s lifestyle with Canary Wharf College and Canary Wharf Glenworth among local schools. Canary Wharf is a 128-acre private estate managed by a single landlord, Canary Wharf Group, who curate the Estate with a long-term vision. The lifestyle at Wood Wharf, the newest district, comes with a true taste of the USA. Residential buildings have stylish communal lounges and bars and well-designed workspaces that offer an appealing work-life balance and promote community spirit. There’s also real attention to sustainability with water refill stations, coffee cup recycling schemes, living walls and thoughtful landscaping. Canary Wharf has the largest density of green roofs in the UK, and supports habitats for wildlife including birds, bats and bees.

Yes, Canary Wharf is high-rise and new, but it’s also thoroughly modern in the very best way.

Notting Hill

The Stylish, Affluent And Celebrity-Filled Neighbourhood

Everyone loves Notting Hill. Elegant white stucco houses on private garden squares, the pretty pop of pastel terraces, antique shops and a boho-chic vibe all make this most stylish neighbourhood an enduring favourite. The Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant film ‘Notting Hill’ highlighted the appeal.

During lockdown, the leafy green space that Notting Hill offers saw it become even more in-demand – part of the much documented ‘race for space’ - and coupled with restricted supply, rents climbed steeply.

Portobello Road runs through Notting Hill and includes the famous antique market, while the Notting Hill carnival is unmissable, with the streets resonating to the reggae beat. There are Michelin-starred restaurants (start at The Ledbury) and buzzy gastropubs, award-winning artisan food shops and chic boutiques on Westbourne Grove. Just walking the streets, dropping in at the Electric Cinema or working out at any of the on-trend studios (quite possibly next to a celebrity or two), will make you feel a little more hip.

Excellent schools include Montessori nurseries, well-regarded Thomas Jones Primary School, Colville Primary and high-achieving private schools. Transport links from nearby Paddington Station link to Heathrow in 15 minutes and on to the West Country, and there’s easy access to three tube lines. For many international residents, charming Notting Hill is indeed the complete package.

St John’s Wood

Home To The American International School With A Leafy Village Vibe

Close to Regent’s Park north-eastern edge and two tube stops from the heart of Oxford Street, the space, greenery and convenience St John’s Wood offers saw its well-established popularity soar ever-higher over the past two years. It’s multi-cultural, community minded and home to many celebrities, but everyone keeps a low profile, apart perhaps from the Beatles’ fans lining up to get a picture walking across the Abbey Road zebra crossing made famous by the Fabulous Four.

Proximity to Regent’s Park, Primrose Hill and London Zoo makes this neighbourhood a family favourite and school choices are excellent. The American School in London is here with other nearby state and private schools, including St John’s Wood Pre Prep and Francis Holland.

The neighbourhood combines easy access to central London via the Jubilee tube line with quick escape routes from Paddington and Marylebone train stations to Bicester Village, the West Country and Heathrow. St John’s Wood is a Conservation Area with many of its houses protected by English Heritage. Property options range from large houses with gardens, terraced houses, bijou mews homes and apartments, both mansion blocks and contemporary new-builds.

Knight Frank’s Relocation Service

Finding a property in the current market can be a trying process, with unprecedented tenant demand and a shortage of stock across the board. Our relocation team are here to help navigate the competition and ensure our clients find the right property and that your experience is as smooth as possible.

Sacha Hawkins, Associate, Relocation Inspired by my parents’ love of property, I started out my real estate career in Cambridge, first working as an estate agent. I jumped at the opportunity to move into the world of corporate relocation and now have over eleven years’ experience in the industry and six of those working with corporates, relocating their employees. A vital part of what I do is to listen to my clients’ individual needs, so that when they are matched to their perfect property, they have the best start to their new journey in London.

For any of your property needs or advice, please get in touch. I’d love to help you. E: sacha.hawkins@knightfrank.com T: +44 20 3504 7337 www.knightfrank.co.uk

ROBERT MCGUIRE

Associate Director/ Global Employer Services Robert.McGuire@bdo.co.uk