Ultra-wealthy Democrats race to buy London boltholes after Trump win

Enquiries from American buyers seeking ‘safety net’ second homes have doubled, says removals boss

Wealthy Democrats are racing to snap up multi-million pound boltholes in London in the wake of Donald Trump’s US election win.
Mr Trump’s election triumph this week has sparked a flurry of interest from ultra-wealthy Americans who want to buy prime UK property as a “safety net” because they disagree with the president-elect’s rhetoric, buying agents report.
Becky Fatemi, executive partner at Sotheby’s International Realty, said she received five calls in two days from wealthy Americans who want to move as an immediate reaction to the US election result.
“That’s people saying, ‘he’s here, and he’s here for the next four years, and I don’t want to be, so these are the dates that we’re flying over’. All of those five are coming here within the next week,” Ms Fatemi said.
For instance, Ms Fatemi is working with a family who arrived from the US on Thursday, just a day after the election result was announced, and are staying in an Airbnb while they look for a rental property with a budget of up to £70,000 per month. The parents are also looking for schools for their three children to start at in January.
In the past two months, enquiries to her team from American buyers looking in the UK have jumped by 30pc year on year, Ms Fatemi said.
Marco Previero, director at R3Location, a removals business, said wealthy Americans feel London is a safe haven that is “more aligned to Democratic values” because of the Labour government.
Mr Previero said: “London has always been seen as a safe haven, but really even more so now with a more stable government that leans to the Left.”
R3’s requests from Americans buying in London have doubled in the last two months because they want a “safety net” from a Trump presidency, Mr Previero said.
He has 20 clients enquiring about R3’s services for this reason, each spending between £2m and £20m on second homes.
Mr Previero said: “They see Trump as an aberration. The writing was on the wall. Now they will be pushing the button.”
Will Watson, head of The Buying Solution, a buying agency, said he is working with five separate families each looking to buy a home in London worth more than £10m because of the political situation in the US, and has another six enquiries in initial stages.
Mr Watson said: “Trump is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Americans are saying, ‘do you know what? I just couldn’t live under another one of his terms.’’’
“They are worried about what Trump might do economically which could affect their businesses, because he is so unpredictable.”
Demand is particularly strong for very high-end rental properties because clients want to move fast and the stamp duty bills for foreigners purchasing expensive properties are enormous, Ms Fatemi said.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to add an extra 2pc to the additional homes stamp duty surcharge in her maiden Budget means that the tax bill for a foreigner purchasing a £10m second home is now more than £1.8m.
Ms Reeves’ plans to scrap the favourable tax regime for wealthy “non-doms” have also pushed movers towards the rental market – but is not enough to put them off the UK altogether, Ms Fatemi added.