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The hellish reality of being caught in a property chain

By Alexandra Goss.

Today’s sensitive property market is creating longer chains and making the buying and selling process extremely delicate.

Britain’s property chains are growing longer and more precarious, with buyers and sellers facing mounting delays, collapsed deals and heightened stress — a trend Black Brick’s team has been navigating on behalf of clients, according to reporting in The Telegraph.

Research by Hamptons estate agency shows that 9% of transactions this year have involved five or more properties in a chain, more than in previous years, while chains of up to nine transactions are now being reported by agents. Almost one in three agreed sales is collapsing before completion, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Black Brick buying agent Dominic Heath explained one of the key structural reasons chains are extending. With mortgage rates remaining elevated, many sellers are reluctant to break a chain and rent temporarily — particularly those fortunate enough to hold a pre-2022 fixed rate. “If a seller is lucky to have a lower rate from pre-2022, they would rather port that lower-rate mortgage than break the chain and have to take out a new mortgage at a high rate in the future,” he said.

The piece highlights a range of further pressures bearing down on chains: slow conveyancing, local authority searches taking weeks or even months, mortgage offers expiring after six months, and what agents describe as rising “flightiness” — where buyers pull out over minor survey issues or simply change their minds.

The Government has announced a consultation on reform, with plans requiring sellers to provide detailed property information upfront, including chain details, in an effort to reduce late-stage collapses.

Read the article here.

2025: A year of challenges, or opportunity?

Despite what can politely be described as a testing market in the British capital this year, the Black Brick team has still helped its clients purchase some £80m-worth of homes in 2025, ranging from pied-a-terre apartments to trophy mansions.

By Property Wire.

While it will not go down in history as a vintage year for London property, for a buying agent 2025 has in many ways been a perfect environment in which to work.

With some vendors clinging to the idea that their home is worth more than it actually is, buyers have really needed our expert advice to avoid overpaying. And a lack of serious buyers means that some outstanding price cuts have been achieved.

These are our best deals of 2025:

Biggest discount

The ink is just drying on Black Brick’s most dramatic price cut negotiation of the year – we have just helped a client shave £750,000 of the asking price of their dream family home in Maida Vale.

The 2,700 sq ft duplex apartment on sought-after Randolph Avenue was on the market for £5.25m when we showed it to our clients, a European family who needed to be within a half-hour commute of the British Library. They loved the stunning light-filled flat, awash with period features, and with its own garden and access to a communal garden. But they were slightly less enamoured of the £5.25m price tag.

We began a delicate negotiation with the selling agent.

“We always consider who the seller is, why they are selling and what the comparable sales data is telling us about the current market for similar properties in the area,” explained Tom Kain, a partner at Black Brick. “In this instance the vendor had a need to sell before the end of the year for tax reasons.”

This strategy, combined with the slow and uncertain state of the prime property market plus Black Brick’s reputation and longstanding track record, worked. We secured the property for £4.5m – a discount of more than 14 per cent. Once the sale had completed we also introduced our clients to a team of tried-and-tested experts, including architects and contractors, as they now plan on upgrading the property.

Best off market deal

It is no secret that many of London’s very best properties never hit the property portals – instead they are sold in a discreet grey market based very much on networks of contacts.

Black Brick went underground to source a fabulous mansion flat on fashionable Mount Street, Mayfair, for Swiss clients who wanted a family flat they could share with their children who are living in London for work and study.

They wanted to buy in two of London’s most popular neighbourhoods, Mayfair or Marylebone. Security was important, and since one of the clients is an interior designer she had a keen eye for layout and light.

Nothing on the open market fitted the bill but we were able to help find a stunning first floor flat in a newly-renovated building. Supply on Mount Street, prized for its carefully curated range of bars, shops, and restaurants, tends to be low, so the circa 1,000 sq ft apartment was a real find.

In fact, said Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick, the owner was hoping to sell the entire building but was persuaded to sell this trophy flat separately in a deal that took a year to put together. “Our clients’ requirements were tough hence we had to look beyond what was just openly available for sale,” said Dell. “We are able to think outside the box and patiently wait for the right opportunity.”

Once the deal was agreed we steered our clients and helped them navigate the unfamiliar buying process, and they paid £5.95m for the flat in May – before rival buyers were even aware it was available. Our private client property management team is now taking care of the flat, so it is ready whenever our clients want to use it.

Best super prime deal

A really special property can override underlying market conditions, and this Grade I listed villa in Hampstead was certainly special. The Grade I listed Georgian villa, once home of the a fashionable portrait artist, was being quietly sold off market by a boutique agent.

Used variously as an assembly room, complete with ballroom and tea room, and an office over the years, the six bedroom weatherboarded  house was stylishly redesigned in 2012. Our clients fell in love with its mix of traditional period features and contemporary finish. With a young family they were on the market for a larger London house with a spacious garden and parking – but they didn’t want to go deep into the suburbs to find it.

The property was originally listed for £25m, but the asking price had been dropped to £20m by the time we viewed it. We were still able to negotiate a substantial seven figure discount.

Because this landmark property is close to 300-years-old, and restoration of a Grade I building is complex and expensive, it was crucial we did our due diligence during the sales process. “We therefore engaged a heritage specialist to look at the work done and check it complied with the necessary heritage requirements,” said Dell. “The property was also in close proximity to a pub so we undertook specialist surveys to give our clients comfort that they would not be disturbed.”

Despite all the work involved we also got the deal completed in double quick time, taking less than a month to get the keys into our clients’ hands.

Best townhouse

Tall, slim, and elegant, a classic London townhouse never goes out of fashion.

Our clients live in the country but wanted a base in the capital when they came to us having struggled to find anything suitable on their own. They wanted a freehold house with at least 3,000 sq ft of living space, and some outside space, ideally within a one mile radius of Soho.

We found them a beautifully renovated five bedroom Georgian townhouse in Manchester Street, Marylebone, which comfortably exceeded their need for space, and had a sweet courtyard garden and is a short stroll from the bars, restaurants, and boutiques of Marylebone High Street and Chiltern Street. We helped them shave £250,000 off the asking price and they paid £7.5m for the property in May.

Best period pied-a-terre

Our clients wanted a stylish London crash pad close to Paddington Station, and in a secure well-run building with a porter. Since they planned to bring their dog with them the building needed to be pet friendly, and they wanted a flat with good natural light, period features, and a porter for security.

Our choice was a smart second floor flat in a lovely white stucco building on Lancaster Gate, a 15 minute walk to the Station and seconds from Hyde Park for long dog walks.

Our clients concurred and gave us the go-ahead to negotiate. They bought the flat in July for £4.6m, which was less than £2,000 per sq ft and £350,000 less than the asking price.

Sale of the year

Although Black Brick is known for its expertise in buying property, it can also help clients sell their properties.

A former client, who Black Brick assisted with the purchase of a loft-style apartment in Gloucester Studios, Primrose Hill, back in 2008 (a year after we opened) got in touch earlier this year. After almost 20 happy years in the apartment, she was moving to Bath and wanted our help to sell the flat.

In a tricky market pricing is everything – buyers are extremely nervous of over-paying – and we encouraged her to list the property for a sensible price. As a result, she found herself fielding multiple offers and sold the flat in September for £2.49m, £200,000 above the guide price.

Rental of the year

London’s sales market has been treading water for much of 2025, but the rental market is running hot, with far more potential tenants than properties, particularly at the top end of the market.

Nonetheless we were able to help a family of five, relocating from Singapore, find their perfect family house in London. They wanted a smart house in a family-friendly neighbourhood with great amenities, which brought us to St John’s Wood, close to their children’s schools and handy for their respective offices. The property found was a fully renovated villa on Blenheim Road, had not yet been listed, and with our clients’ approval negotiated a three year tenancy at £16,466 per month.

Read all about our best deals of 2025 here.

Celebrating standout acquisitions in challenging times

We’re celebrating a major milestone this week as we reach £80 million in deals, despite today’s challenging UK housing market.

Despite a challenging London property market in 2025, buying agency Black Brick has turned difficult conditions to its clients’ advantage, completing approximately £80 million worth of transactions since January.

The Mayfair-based firm has leveraged market softness — including hesitant buyers and vendors with unrealistic pricing expectations — to negotiate significant discounts on behalf of clients. Headline deals include a Georgian townhouse on Marylebone’s Manchester Street acquired for £7.5 million, a trophy flat on Mount Street in Mayfair concluded at £5.95 million following off-market negotiations, and a duplex apartment on Randolph Avenue in Maida Vale secured for £4.5 million — a 14% reduction from the original asking price.

The firm’s most high-profile acquisition was a Grade I-listed Hampstead villa with nearly 300 years of history, originally listed at £25 million. Managing Partner Camilla Dell led due diligence on the landmark property, explaining: “Because this landmark property is close to 300-years-old, and restoration of a Grade I building is complex and expensive, it was crucial we did our due diligence during the sales process.” A heritage specialist was commissioned to verify compliance with listed building requirements, and the transaction completed in under a month.

Dell added that the current market has created ideal conditions for Black Brick’s model: with some vendors overpricing and serious buyers in short supply, the firm has been able to secure outstanding value for its clients.

Read the article here.

‘My home is no mansion’: the suburb left on the brink by new tax

Affected residents of London and the wider UK have been asked to share their thoughts on the new £2 million mansion tax.

Announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Budget last week, the tax is set to add a surcharge of £2,500 to £7,500 a year in council tax bills for owners of properties valued at more than £2 million.

Black Brick Managing Partner Camilla Dell shared her insights in a feature for The Times written by Martina Lees, discussing how buying agents like us are adapting to the tax news and supporting clients for future purchases.

Read the article here.

Why would anyone live in a listed building?

By Ruth Bloomfield.

Listed buildings are some of the most charming and beautiful examples of British architecture.

It was great to see Black Brick Partner Tom Kain quoted in this excellent article by Ruth Bloomfield in The Spectator.

Tom said ‘I think people are more wary of buying period properties that need work than they were in years gone by,’ he says. ‘With the inflated cost of work, extended time and risk involved, they have to be really excited by the opportunity to take it on.’

Read the article here.

Thankfully at Black Brick Property Solutions LLP, we can guide our clients through the process of buying a heritage building. Clients of Black Brick also have access to our Black Book of tried and trusted contacts where we connect clients to the right specialists to help give them confidence in buying listed properties.

If you are thinking about buying a listed building and would like some advice, please get in touch.

Prime property industry reactions to the Budget 2025

By PrimeResi.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her much-anticipated Budget yesterday, in which she confirmed a new so-called ‘mansion tax’ as well as hiking rates on property income.

The Chancellor’s Budget delivered fewer shocks than many in the prime property sector had feared, with Camilla Dell, Managing Partner at Black Brick, describing the announcements as “fairly benign” for buyers and sellers in the prime and super-prime market.

The headline measure — a new annual Council Tax surcharge on homes valued above £2 million — proved significantly less severe than widely anticipated. Rather than the 1% annual charge on values above £2 million that had been mooted, the confirmed figures of £2,500 for properties above £2 million and £7,500 for those above £5 million represent a far more manageable outcome for high-value homeowners.

Camilla Dell noted that Black Brick had been on standby to begin renegotiating deals for clients currently under offer, had a more punishing levy been announced. With that scenario avoided, she confirmed the charges are unlikely to “drastically change the way prime and super-prime property is bought and sold, or have a significant impact on prime London property values.”

One area to watch, however, is the potential for a “bunching” effect around the new thresholds, as owners look to price or value properties just below the £2 million and £5 million bands. This is a dynamic Black Brick is monitoring closely on behalf of its clients.

Camilla also offered a longer-term note of caution: previous increases to Stamp Duty and ATED demonstrate that once a new levy is established, governments tend to raise rates over time — making this a consideration for prime property owners looking beyond the immediate market.

For now, the absence of changes to Stamp Duty or Capital Gains Tax means the prime central London market can move forward with greater confidence and clarity.

Read the article here.

‘It is starting to make sense’ for PCL landlords as yields rise, reports buying agent

By PrimeResi.

Here at Black Brick, we’ve seen an influx of enquiries from investors looking to take advantage of the improving investment market in recent times.

“Buy to let investments have been a hard sell in recent years,” says Camilla Dell of buying agency Black Brick, “but over the past couple of years the goal posts have moved.”

Prime Central London’s remaining landlords are enjoying higher yields as rents climb while property values fall – twin trends driven in part by a sustained exit of investors over the last decade.

With rental yields now coming in at 4-6%, investors are once again eyeing PCL assets. Black Brick says it is seeing more enquiries from investors “who can see that it is starting to make sense.”

The agency is currently bidding on a one-bedroom apartment in W1 for an investment client, which has a gross yield of 5.85%, and has its eye on an apartment building in Kensington that is heading to auction offering yields of 4.59%.

Camilla Dell, Managing Partner at Black Brick: “Buy to let investments have been a hard sell in recent years, with increases in Stamp Duty and an end to mortgage interest relief making it challenging for landlords to turn a profit and the incoming Renters Rights Bill making it harder for landlords to evict tenants when they please.

“And, since Black Brick was founded in 2007, high entry costs and buying costs mean that yields in PCL have been unappealingly low at two to three per cent.

“But over the past couple of years the goal posts have moved. Prices have fallen and rents have risen – ironically in part because many dissatisfied landlords have exited the sector over the past decade reducing stock levels.

“As a result Black Brick is now seeing yields of four to six per cent. We are also starting to see enquiries from investors – in one case an investor from Asia looking to invest up to £120m in London – who can see that it is starting to make sense.

“While capital growth, in the short and medium term, is unlikely to be significant, rents are set to increase by 21.1 per cent between now and 2029, according to Knight Frank.

“Meanwhile, and for the same reasons, long-term London residents who have always rented are now calculating whether it might make better financial sense for them to buy if they intend to remain in London.”

Tom Kain, Partner at Black Brick: “We have received an influx of enquiries from investors looking to take advantage of the improving investment market. These are both clients looking at individual units, and block buyers, with buildings containing six or more apartments under one roof. Typically, they are looking to diversify their wealth, and central London property is still viewed as a stable asset to own.”

Read the full article here. 

The LPF February webinar recording: Making a House into a Home

For those who work in luxury property and at the highest level, providing an exceptional level of client service is a given. However, for clients who are not only extremely wealthy, but discerning and sophisticated, how is this achieved?

As professionals, some qualities are the same across the board. But, for those providing services at the top end of the market, it is imperative that they have their clients’ utmost trust, go over and above what is expected and work to build and maintain long term relationships.

In luxury property transactions and developments, the ultimate goal is to get the best result for your client. This applies to buying a property, designing it (inside and out) and carrying out the development. It is so important to cultivate that relationship, understand the needs and desires of your client but also knowing when to reign them in to achieve the best result.

The breadth of UHNWI clients is growing wider, with different generations, cultures, nationalities all having slightly different priorities and a view to what makes a house a home.

Chaired by Priya Rawal, Founder and CEO of The Luxury Property Forum, our amazing panel sharing practical advice and case studies will be:

How Britain’s most expensive house became a £250m white elephant

By Jonathan Ford.

Previously owned by a Lebanese billionaire politician, a Saudi Prince and most recently the property typhoon Hui Ka Yan, Britain’s most expensive mansion is up for sale at an impressive £250 million asking price.

The saga surrounding 2-8a Rutland Gate — the 45-room Knightsbridge mansion that last sold for £210 million in 2020 and has been marketed at around £250 million — has become one of the most closely watched stories in London’s super-prime property market, and one that Black Brick’s Camilla Dell believes illustrates the challenges facing the capital’s top end, according to in-depth reporting in The Telegraph.

The property, once owned by Lebanese billionaire Rafic Hariri and later a Saudi crown prince, was purchased by the family of Chinese property tycoon Hui Ka Yan — founder of the now-collapsed Evergrande Group. Following Evergrande’s liquidation in 2024, a freezing injunction was placed on the mansion, halting its sale while liquidators pursue allegations that it was purchased with misappropriated funds. The property has since stood largely empty, its fabric reportedly deteriorating.

Camilla Dell offered a frank assessment of the mansion’s prospects. “It’s a compromised asset in a difficult market,” she told The Telegraph. “It’s on a busy road and shouldn’t even be residential. Most people at that level want privacy. It would probably be better as an office block or a boutique hotel.”

The piece frames Rutland Gate as a barometer of wider shifts in London’s super-prime market. Prices per square foot for prime London property have fallen around 16% from their 2014–15 peak, while the pool of ultra-wealthy international buyers has narrowed considerably. Russian buyers have largely disappeared from the market, Chinese overseas property spending faces increasing official scrutiny, and the abolition of non-dom tax status has prompted concerns about a potential overhang of high-value properties coming to market with insufficient demand to absorb them.

The article raises broader questions about London’s long-term appeal as a destination for global capital — and whether the next wave of super-wealthy buyers will choose the UK over lower-tax alternatives such as Dubai or Italy.

Read the article here.