Behind closed doors: Saul Empson on the strange business of super-prime deal-making
In a new series for PrimeResi, seasoned buying agent Saul Empson reveals the absurdities and dramas that unfold behind the scenes of high-end property sales, from Notting Hill townhouses to country estates...
Saul Empson is an independent property buying agent, offering a personal, bespoke service to a small group of private clients. He has been involved in the central London property market since 1985 and spent his first fifteen years as a selling agent selling residential property and running sales offices for some of the big high street names. In 1999 he made the switch to finding and buying property on behalf of clients instead of selling houses and has never looked back.
Saul Empson: What the Dickens is going on in the prime property market?
If we all stopped in our tracks every time the papers rang a bell to call the onset of the next property crash, none of us would have bought homes since 1998, says buying agent Saul Empson...
By Saul Empson
London Super-Prime Market Survey: What changed in 2025 – and what lies ahead in 2026
Non-dom exits, international bargain hunters and a raft of trophy listings reshaped the £15m-plus sector over the last 12 months, reports Beauchamp Estates,
London’s super-prime property market slumps to five-year low
£15mn-plus deals dropped off by a quarter in 2024, reports Beauchamp Estates, as tax hikes, non-dom changes & political uncertainty spooked billionaire buyers.
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The Great Fragmentation: New data charts super-prime London’s shift from two-agency dominance to a field of fifty
Exclusive: Analysis of 70 £10mn-plus sales confirms a striking shift in how PCL's biggest deals are being brokered.
By PrimeResi
Knight Frank begins redundancy consultation process
Agency says fewer than 3% of its UK workforce could be affected.
Standout Georgian house in Richmond trades in benchmark deal
Off-market transaction is the SW London neighbourhood's highest-value sale so far this year.
One month on: How the Renters’ Rights Act is already reshaping Prime London
From landlords repricing above key thresholds to tenants adjusting budgets and buyers shying away from tenanted stock, Yasmin Ulhaq reports on the market's first responses to the new regime.
By Yasmin Ulhaq
Record deal sealed on Pimlico’s St George’s Square
Rare freehold townhouse changes hands at close to £10mn asking.
First Look: Albion Nord completes £6.7mn show home at Bishops Avenue Gardens
Arts & Crafts meets luxury living in first apartment to be unveiled at new Billionaires' Row scheme.
Salboy launches fourth central London scheme
Studio Power has designed the ten-apartment scheme in Camden for Salboy & Forge Homes.
By PrimeResi
Masterplan revealed for major central London hospital site development
King's Cross Group & Argent have unveiled a fresh £500mn proposal for the St Pancras Hospital site, featuring more than 180 new homes.
By PrimeResi
Rare and historic homes change hands as north London’s top end stirs
Savills reports a busy few weeks in Hampstead and St John's Wood, with buyers snapping up blue-plaque houses, trophy homes and a £13.5mn mansion conversion project.
Family office buys mixed-use property parade in South Kensington
Eastway Estates spent £11mn on the row of buildings on Bute Street.
By PrimeResi
LATEST ARTICLES
‘Bold buyers snap up deals’: Super-prime agent calls for ‘the end of caution’ in PCL
'Decisive buyers are dominating,' says Peter Wetherell, following a five-day five-deal run worth nearly £25mn.
By PrimeResi
Knight Frank begins redundancy consultation process
Agency says fewer than 3% of its UK workforce could be affected.
Tom Bill: Burnham victory sparks questions on fiscal discipline & property tax reform
Victory in Makerfield will reignite debate over government’s economic priorities and possibility of property tax reform, says Knight Frank's head of UK resi research.
By Tom Bill
Government confirms homebuying shake-up to ‘slash delays, cut costs & stop sales falling through’
Proposals include upfront 'sales packs', binding contracts and possible mandatory agent qualifications.
By PrimeResi
Weekly Showcase: Ten featured prime resi listings
PrimeResi's regular stock check, powered by LonRes