"I conduct business in China, India and other places around the world, it's much easier than in London." A highly influential British real estate developer told The Telegraph UK.
According to reports, John Hitchcox, founder of Yoo Capital, led the £1.3 billion transformation project of Kensington Olympia. He stated that the complex planning approval processes and licensing regulations in London led some developers to simply ‘give up’ on the project.
He said that the development environment in London has become 'extremely poor', and it is becoming increasingly difficult for projects of Olympia's size to be implemented in the UK.
"I love the career I am in and also love the city where I live, but honestly, it's much easier to do business in China, India, and other parts of the world," said Hickey Cox. Currently, he has about 60 planning applications waiting to be approved, all of which are stuck due to cumbersome procedures.
He revealed that the planning application, which was supposed to be approved in one year, is now being delayed by three years. The six plots of land in his company's possession are completely unable to be developed and constructed.
Shic Cox Video Screenshot
British housing developer Berkeley Group's president, Rob Perrins, also stated earlier that London is no longer 'suitable for investment'. The company has stopped purchasing new plots in London and reduced the investment in existing projects.
The Berkeley Group originally planned to demolish an old shopping center in Peckham and build hundreds of new homes. This flagship project was rejected last month due to concerns about preserving the historic architecture. Many industry insiders see this as a sign that “development is no longer possible in London.”
"Some problems are indeed beyond government control, but there are also many that can be improved by human efforts." said Xiqi Coxs. Comparing South Korea and the United Kingdom, he found that in South Korea, design engineers could obtain clear regulations from project initiation, while in Britain, the approval process was vague and ambiguous, with a lot of non-professionals giving their opinions on architectural design style without proper expertise. “As developers, we have to spend a lot of time navigating various approval stages. Many people have given up completely."
According to reports, when Hickey Cox made these remarks, the Olympia project, supported by Deutsche Financial International and transformed by Yoo Capital, was set to open next week. The project includes British Airways’ ARC concert venue, a Hyatt hotel with 204 rooms, as well as the first batch of bars and restaurants. The Premier League has already confirmed their presence in the office building of the project.
It is worth mentioning that the impact caused by the Middle Eastern conflicts has begun to affect the UK's real estate market. British housing prices experienced their first monthly decline this year last month.
Data released by the Nationwide National Housing Mortgage Association at the beginning of this month showed that in May, UK housing prices decreased by 0.6% month-on-month and increased by 1.7% year-on-year. Both increases were significantly slower compared to April. In April, the average UK housing price increased by 0.4% month-on-month and 3% year-on-year.
