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Courtesy of the Times.
Wealthy Britons are downsizing to smaller properties before moving abroad and shifting their money offshore in fear of a government under Jeremy Corbyn, estate agents claim. Pressures on the precarious high-end property market have increased after fears that a Labour government would raise taxes on the rich, enforce share giveaways to employees and so cause the economy to slow down. Estate agents dealing with luxury properties have said that they are seeing clients sell their expansive London homes to rent smaller residences in preparation to leave.
Trevor Abrahmsohn, the founder of Glentree Estates, an agency that sells homes to the super-rich in northwest London, said: “The fear of a Jeremy Corbyn government has led to our lettings market going berserk. This is quite simply because, if you rent, then you can’t be affected by a collapse in property price growth that many expect if Corbyn comes to power. “I had an inquiry this morning for someone to rent for £40,000 per week. “People want to live in England, they want a piece of England — but they don’t want to risk buying here, and we hear time and time again that their biggest fear is an extreme left-wing government.” Brendan Roberts, the head of sales at Aylesford International, an estate agency, said: “I have a client, a banker, who has sold his home in Chelsea for £17.5 million. He is now renting a modest pied-a-terre in London but he doesn’t plan to stay here much and is looking to move to America.
“He has said that he can run his business from anywhere. He has said he is keeping a watching brief on what is happening with Corbyn.” Ashley Crossley, a wealth management partner at Baker Mckenzie, the law firm, said that Labour Party threats to increase tax rates were causing some of his overseas clients to question their future in Britain. “When wealthy people are facing uncertainty over Brexit and politicians are criticising them for not paying their fair share, they are starting to ask whether the UK is the right place for them if Corbyn wins,” he said. A senior figure in the City, who did not want to be named, said: “Every single private client firm is backed up with people trying to get their cash out of the UK. It is the single biggest driver of trade right now and has been for the last three months.” After the Financial Times reported that the ultra-wealthy were preparing to move assets abroad John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, issued a warning. He said: “Society will not tolerate the rich refusing to shoulder their fair share of responsibilities. We will take all the necessary action to make sure they do.”