Whilst this increase reflects the City of Westminster as a whole, Mayfair has exceeded this rise as demand from increasingly more people seek a finite supply of property.

With base rates at 5% and the government seemingly working towards European monetary union, rates can only go down further - combined with the 'feel good' factor and stock market performance, people are prepared to pay top rates for prime property.

Lease Extensions

Where the landlords previous written consent (not to be unreasonable withheld) is required for a lease to be assigned, landlords are still refusing consent if the lease is held by a company and the purchaser wishes to acquire the lease in their own name.

The grounds for doing so are that the individual could obtain rights to extend the lease or enfranchise and landlords therefore argue that they could then suffer a loss if the purchaser obtained such rights.

Whilst this may seem inequitable, informed purchasers are enquiring "is the lease in a company name" - if the answer is yes then they are being more cautious.

Although we understand this matter is under review as part of the Government's research into the house buying process, it is good to see pro-active landlords, such as the Grosvenor Estate, come up with new ideas to help their tenants extend their leases.