Wikipedia

Langham Estate

The Langham Estate is a property estate in Fitzrovia, London, and is owned by the Mount Eden Land Limited (Guernsey). The company controls 14 acres of real estate in central London. A third of its property portfolio was sold in 2024.

Langham Estate
Company typePrivate limited company by shares
IndustryReal estate management
Founded9 December 1993
Headquarters
London
,
UK
Area served
13.8 acres
Key people
Ahsan Ellahi
OwnerSamuel Tak Lee
ParentMount Eden Land Limited (Guernsey)
Websitewww.langhamestate.com

Background

edit
 
Great Portland Street as seen in the early 1900s

The Langham Estate originates from an entity first established in 1925 to manage a holding of 40 acres of land purchased from the Howard de Walden Estate in central London.[1][2][3] The properties, acquired for £3m and located in eastern Marylebone,[1][4] then passed through various owners, including Sir John Ellerman's Audley Trust, before being acquired in 1994 by Guernsey-based Mount Eden Land Ltd for £51m.[1][5][6][7] Under Sir John Ellerman, the holdings covered almost all Great Portland Street, and much of streets alongside it (including Hallam, Bolsover, Margaret and Great Titchfield Streets).[1][8][9] Numerous holdings on Great Portland Street were divested over the years.

The Langham Estate operates in an area noted for its media connections, restaurants, design showrooms and art galleries.[10] The Langham Estate was described in 2017 as being one of London's 16 Great Estates with its footprint of 13.8 acres of central London property.[11][12] Many of the entity's original properties are still held—but now in the form of freehold as their long leases have been sold off.[1]

Samuel Tak Lee of Hong Kong is said to be its owner.[5][13][14] Mr Lee reportedly sought control of Shaftesbury PLC's neighbouring 15-acre estate until his interests in it were sold in June 2020.[15][16][17]

Recent developments

edit
 
Great Portland Street is long known for its shops and restaurants

The Fitzrovia real estate market has been undergoing a renewal.[18] The area has witnessed significant increase in rents and rates along with markedly higher occupant turnovers.[19][20] Property values have increased in part due to changes in planning constraints,[21][22] along with the impact of the Cross Rail and Oxford Street projects, which were projected to increase commercial activity in the area.[23][24][25]

The company markets some of its properties under the banners of Noho and/or FitzNovia to describe an area just north of Oxford Street and just west of Regent Street.[26][27] The company website states the company holds a "1.3 million sq feet (29 acre) mixed portfolio of office, showroom, retail, restaurant, bar, residential and storage" properties.[28][5]

A neighbourhood plan is being developed for Langham Estate's Fitzrovia area. This is being done in consultation with stakeholders, the Langham Estate and other local landlords, businesses and residents.[29][30] The plan focused on improving the local amenity, affordable housing provision, poor broadband data services and air pollution conditions.[31][32][33]

In August 2023, Langham Estate decided to divest itself of a third of its property holdings.[34] These include 27 freehold assets of offices, retail, leisure, educational, medical and residential properties in northern Fitzrovia.[35] These properties were reportedly sold for £350m in January 2024.[36]

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e Philip Temple and Colin Thom (2017). "South-East Marylebone: Draft of Volumes 51 and 52" (PDF). Survey of London: South-East Marylebone Volumes 51 and 52. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300221978.
  2. ^ "Offices To Let, West End, Offices to Rent, Langham Estate, London". Langham Estate. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  3. ^ The Howard de Walden Estate is said to have sold 40 acres in East Marylebone in anticipation of high death duty obligations.
  4. ^ The 1925 land acquisition price of £3m is roughly equivalent to £177m in 2018. Source: http://www.in2013dollars.com/1925-GBP-in-2018?amount=3000000 (“Inflation Calculator.” U.S. Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 26 Oct. 2018, https://www.officialdata.org/.)
  5. ^ a b c "Who owns central London?". Who owns England?. 28 October 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  6. ^ "History of The Langham Estate". Langham Estate. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  7. ^ HEATHER CONNON (13 December 1993). "Prime portfolio of London property fetches just pounds 51m: Li family buys Langham Estate from Grovewood receivers". The Independent. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  8. ^ "The secretive billionaire". 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. ^ Jenkins, Simon (2012). Landlords to London: The Story of a Capital and Its Growth. Faber & Faber. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-571-29476-3.
  10. ^ "About Fitzrovia London". Fitzrovia Neighbourhood Association. 2 April 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  11. ^ Fraser, Isabelle (28 October 2017). "How a handful of historic firms still own swathes of central London". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  12. ^ Kevin Cahill (2002). Who Owns Britain. Canongate Books Ltd. ISBN 9781841953106.
  13. ^ "Revealed Samuel Tak Lee: the secretive tycoon who controls a huge swathe of the West End". Evening Standard. 13 June 2003. p. 19. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017.
  14. ^ Shah, Oliver (16 November 2014). "Hong Kong tycoon sets sights on Chinatown". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Lee Family Investors" Tender Offer – Shaftesbury PLC – Company Announcement - FT.com". markets.ft.com. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  16. ^ "Time for 'Man of Mystery' Shaftesbury shareholder to put up or shut up". Evening Standard. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Samuel Tak Lee Sells Stake in Shaftesbury for £436M". Mingtiandi. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  18. ^ Nathan Brooker (29 May 2015). "Is London's Fitzrovia ready for the big prime?". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  19. ^ Ramsorrun, Helen. "How Fitzrovia Became a Key Area for Commercial Property Investment". Pearl & Coutts. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  20. ^ "Villandry goes into administration amid reports of £1.5m losses". www.thedrinksbusiness.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  21. ^ "Special Policy Areas and Policies Map Revision – Publication Draft (Regulation 19) Revision to Westminster's City Plan: Strategic Policies" (PDF). City of Westminster. November 2015.
  22. ^ "Supporting Information Publication Draft (Regulation 19) Special Policy Areas and Policies Map Revision" (PDF). City of Westminster. November 2015.
  23. ^ "JLL | Residential Research | Crossrail Opportunities 2016". residential.jll.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  24. ^ Savills.com (18 April 2018). "Infrastructure Investment and Land Value Uplift". Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  25. ^ "A FUTURE FOR THE OXFORD STREET DISTRICT". www.oxfordstreetdistrict.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  26. ^ "MyNoHo – The Langham Estate Blog". MyNoHo. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  27. ^ "FitzNovia Twitter Feed". twitter.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  28. ^ "Commercial lettings : Serviced Office Space for Rent : London West End". Langham Estate. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  29. ^ "Draft Plan | FitzWest". fitzwest.org. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  30. ^ www.FITZWEST.ORG/wordpress. "FitzWest Plan -- Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Forum" (PDF).
  31. ^ "FitzWest Plan: Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Forum" (PDF). fitzwest.org. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Better Oxford Street Campaign - Pedestrianising Oxford Street is not the answer". Better Oxford Street Campaign. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Broadband in Fitzrovia | FitzWest". Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  34. ^ Norman, Paul (17 August 2023). "Langham Estate Puts £500 Million Slice of Fitzrovia on Market". CoStar. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  35. ^ "£500M West End Sale Process Is Largest Launched In London This Year". Bisnow. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  36. ^ "Weekly data sheet: Opportunistic buyers win £300 mln chunk of London's West End". PropertyEU News. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
edit
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Langham Estate.

51°31′01″N 0°08′22″W / 51.5170782°N 0.139501°W / 51.5170782; -0.139501

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Langham_Estate&oldid=1251070327"