London is awash with spectacular prime properties, and following the change to the UK's travel rules, it is now much easier for travellers from the UAE to come and see them.
The National'sLondon luxury property series serves to whet the appetite, and this month we take a look at a four-bedroom Art Deco property, brimming with original features.
Featured property
Hamilton Terrace, St Johns Wood, London, NW8 9UJ – £17.25 million ($23.2m).
The key details
A handsome three-floor, 6,750-square-foot Art Deco detached house built in 1938.
Inside Hamilton Terrace in St Johns Wood, London. Photo: Savills
The principal bedroom suite occupies the whole of the first floor and comprises a large bedroom, two sizeable his and her dressing rooms, a bathroom and a gym or sitting area (depending on how energised its occupant is feeling). The floor also offers access to a terrace overlooking the garden.
There are four more double bedrooms – all with en suites – on the second floor. Portholes light the staircase with natural light.
The garden floor features a commodious gallery ideal for a home office or studio.
It also boasts a housekeeper's bedroom suite, a utility room and an integral garage.
The landscaped garden measures about 125 feet with a heated outdoor pool and sitting area. The house has planning permission for a further 5,000 square feet.
What the broker says
What makes the property stand out from the crowd?
Its history is what makes this property particularly special – Hamilton Terrace is an extremely desirable street and many of the properties along the road are Victorian, so the fact this is an Art Deco home makes it stand out.
The house was commissioned to be built for a prominent London couple, the Marques and Marquesa de Casa Maury, in the late 1930s, and still has many of the original features that they installed such as lit bookshelves and porthole windows.
It is also said that the marques and marquesa regularly entertained some of the glittering stars of the day at the property.
Winifred May, the Marquesa de Casa Maury, was a renowned English socialite. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
It’s definitely retained that sense of being a brilliant house to host guests, particularly as the living accommodation is all on the ground floor and leads out to the garden and the outdoor heated swimming pool. You could imagine someone could have some great parties here.
Are there similar homes in London?
It’s unusual to see a home in this part of London that combines Art Deco features with this sense of scale and specification.
The sale definitely presents an exciting proposition for someone. Particularly in the super-prime market, we are seeing buyers wanting the rarity factor in a property and Hamilton Terrace certainly delivers on that requirement.
What kind of buyer would the property most suit?
This is a fantastic and versatile house in terms of its accommodation. It could work well for a family, particularly as it is in a great location for some of London’s best schools, but we’d also expect it to appeal to the international market who might be drawn by the spread of bedroom accommodation for them and their guests. The principal suite is incredibly impressive – it occupies the entire first floor with his and hers dressing rooms, a bathroom and a balcony overlooking the garden.
Hamilton Terrace is beautifully presented but also offers someone the opportunity and flexibility to create a home that suits them and their needs in the future. There is currently a studio on the garden floor but this could make a great games room, cinema or staff accommodation.
The wider St John’s Wood area combines proximity to central London with a neighbourhood feel and holds many delights, including the home of cricket, Lord's.
Lord's is a mere cricket ball's throw from Hamilton Terrace. Getty Images
Why is now a good time to buy in London?
The top end of the London prime property market is the strongest I’ve seen it. Our researchers recently indicated that the London market has just seen record levels of £5 million-plus ($6.8m) activity. There’s strong demand at the top-end, particularly as buyers recognise the value to be had given that prices are now about 20 per cent below their peak.
Zach Madison, director, Savills St Johns Wood and property agent, Hamilton Terrace
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024. It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine. Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages]. The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts. With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians. Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved. Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world. The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
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Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
