Rents rocket in Soho, new hotspot for chefs

 
Set in Soho: Steve Coogan and Anna Friel in The Look of Love
Rex Features
Danny Buckland13 March 2013

Property rents are rocketing in Soho as top chefs and restaurant chains battle for prime spots.

Kurt Zdesar, the man behind successful dim sum restaurant Ping Pong, has recently paid more than £1 million to open an outlet in Frith Street and other sites are subject to bidding wars.

Experts say business is out-stripping levels from the last boom a decade ago with the completion of Crossrail instrumental in attracting investment.

The major landlords are also following Westminster council’s lead in cleaning up the area and reducing the number of sex shops and strip clubs. It comes as a film about the “King of Soho” Paul Raymond’s life — starring Stephen Fry, Steve Coogan and Anna Friel — hits cinema screens. The Look of Love charts the rise of Raymond from variety entertainer to the richest man in Britain with a porn-to-property empire.

“Soho had lost its appeal for investment but it is back with a vengeance meaning rents and premiums are flying high,” said Morris Greenberg of property lease specialist Cedar Dean Gilmarc.

“Units that had been on the market for some time are achieving three to five offers from businesses keen to get in on the act. The area is buzzing and is now the place where entrepreneurs try out new concepts. If they can make it in Soho they can replicate that success around the country and in other capital cities.”

A Denman Street outlet that had been on the market for 18 months suddenly attracted four competitors and reached a premium of £340,000. A unit in Dean Street that had not been on the market was received an offer of more than £300,000 from one restaurant desperate to get a foothold.

Market figures suggest that it would cost more than £500,000 to open in Old Compton Street and Berwick Street, which has developed a reputation for street market style, is also riding high.

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