Axiom DWFM held its second face-to-face property lunch on Wednesday, 2 November at the School of Philosophy and Economic Science in Mandeville Place, Marylebone following the pandemic and seven virtual lunches on Zoom.
Jonathan Metliss, Chairman of Axiom DWFM, highlighted a number of current trends, such as the reduction in house prices, the level of interest rates, the significance of the declining value of the pound and the booming rental market. Regarding the current economic situation Alex Brummer, City Editor of the Daily Mail said that it was “not as gloomy as had been made out”.
Karyn Jones, Partner at Shaw Gibbs Insolvency and Advisory spoke about the current level of insolvencies in the real estate area of which she considered are likely to rise in the current economic climate. Clearly, she said, rising interest rates and cashflow issues were a major problem, and data illustrated that the construction sector was particularly hard hit, with a disproportionately high percentage being unable to repay COVID support loans.
Will Clough of Allsop talked about the continued buyer demand in evidence at recent Allsop auctions and that £180 million of commercial real estate had been sold at their September and November sales, principally to cash buyers.
Sarah Sandy (general real estate, Axiom DWFM) referred to Axiom DWFM’s large number of real estate related transactions and described the current Buy-to-Let market. Rima Sengupta of Axiom DWFM (banking and finance and India desk) talked about the volatility of the current market and the opportunities it created. Lenders, she noted, are being cautious, and borrowers are keen to complete their transactions as soon as possible. She had seen a significant increase in personal guarantees of late. As head of the India desk, she has seen a rise in clients from India, Singapore and the UAE purchasing properties in the UK, to a large extent due to the fall in value of the pound sterling.
Mira Arezina of Axiom DWFM (property litigation) confirmed the high level of activity in her department and explained the current situation with court procedures. Pragnesh Modhwadia, Managing Partner, Axiom DWFM, thanked the audience for attending the event. It is anticipated that the next real estate lunch will be held in early 2023.
