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May 7, 2015

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The glamour of London real estate

Every six months, Michelle Liu, head of International Residential, JLL Shanghai, flies to London, jumps on the tube and shuttles to one development site after another almost non-stop for a week.

It’s her way of vetting prospective investments for affluent clients back in China.

Liu was a founding member of the department set up by JLL Shanghai in 2013. She now leads a team of eight people, all with some overseas background. That’s almost a prerequisite for working in the international real estate broking business nowadays.

“Persuading my clients, 80 percent of whom are Chinese mainlanders, to purchase an overseas property they have never seen is not only about selling them a home far away,” Liu told Shanghai Daily during a recent interview. “It is often more about the idea of selling them a new lifestyle and a new experience.”

Liu casts a discerning eye over prospective properties to see if they meet specific criteria of clients. Many of them are seeking safe havens for their wealth, diversification of assets or just a base for children who are studying abroad or have future plans to do so.

Since late April, the Atlas Building, a landmark mixed-use development in London, has been at the top of the agenda for Liu and her team. Located in Shoreditch, the Tech City there is sometimes called the future “Silicon Valley of London.”

The project promises buyers the chance to be part of one of the city’s most vibrant and growing areas from a corporate, investment or lifestyle perspective.

“The London government has put development of Tech City as a focus of municipal planning, with a number of giants, such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Intel, already committed to a presence there,” Liu said. “Business clients and tenants brought in by these leading companies will definitely stimulate the leasing sector of the area, driving up residential prices, with those along City Road seeing the most notable gains.”

Fueled by higher office rents and residential prices and a growing number of prime buildings, Shoreditch is focused on the digital media sector. It is being transformed from what was previously considered the “city fringe” into a core London area.

One only has to look at how submarkets like Clerkenwell, now a hub for advertising agencies, and Aldgate, now a financial technology and big data center, have been similarly transformed.

According to JLL Research, residential prices in these submarkets are expected to rise 17.4 percent over the next three years and 29.4 percent in the next five years.

The Atlas Building comprises a 40-story residential tower, a 10-story office building, new public plaza and retail space. It will be a standout in the Tech City cluster with its striking height of 152 meters.

Designed by award-winning MAKE Architects and due for completion at the end of 2018, the residential tower is a collection of 302 premium apartments, including studios, penthouses and apartments of one, two and three bedrooms.

The building also houses an extensive range of lifestyle amenities, including a gym, spa, ground floor swimming pool, a cinema, 24-hour concierge and security services, and a private residents’ lounge. Directly fronting on City Road, the Atlas Building offers easy access to diverse areas such as Shoreditch, Islington, Farringdon and the City.

The project is being developed by Rocket Investments, a private property development and investment company with a strong track record in successful mixed-use schemes, with a particular focus around Old Street and City Road.

JLL is the sole mainland agent for the project. Since late April, when buying opportunities in the development were first launched in Shanghai and Beijing, the Atlas Building has been well-received, with most interest focused on studios and one-bedroom apartments.

“We’ve seen quite notable changes over the past few years regarding individual Chinese purchasing overseas properties,” said Liu, who was among one of the earliest in the country to tap the cross-border realty brokerage business.

“Five years ago, I might have had to arrange five or even 10 meetings with clients before I could seal a deal,” she added. “Nowadays, more and more tend to make their decisions the first time they hear about a project.”

Liu said the bulk of mainlanders buying property overseas are aged between 35 and 55, compared with an age range of 40-60 overall in the Asia-Pacific market. Private entrepreneurs are replacing “gold-collar” executives as the dominant market force.

Liu and her team are now planning to make their first foray into the US market this year, with several apartment projects in Manhattan already on their shortlist.

The team has won several industry accolades including International Residential Service Star Performer by Hurun Report and Best Service Brand for Overseas Realty Broker by Xinmin Evening News.

“This market in China has huge potential for growth as the ‘new rich’ class continues to expand,” Liu said.

“We have just seen the beginning of the story.”




 

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