The owner of one of the most enviable contacts book in global property, Thistlethwayte feels the pulse of the world’s wealth. (Having more than 700 offices with 30,000 people in 60-plus countries at your fingertips can’t hurt.)
As head of Savills’ international residential department (he’s also worked in the city and the country departments), the frequent flyer offers the ‘best in class’ to the firm’s wealthiest UHNWs and developer clients, understanding their investment appetite and delivering global briefs on any given day.
While he says Paris has had a strong recovery and locations like Lisbon and Berlin currently offer some ‘wonderful’ opportunities (resort developments that offer year-round revenue being particularly popular), Thistlethwayte says the British capital remains a robust destination for investment, despite an abundance of ‘fear and foreboding’ after the referendum.
‘London remains attractive,’ he says. ‘It’s a stable city, it’s still got strong rule of law. It may not be tax-beneficial any more, but it is mostly tax-benign still for many people.’