Top Ten London Selling

A property guru with an ‘encyclopaedic’ knowledge of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, Knight Frank’s head of prime new homes Rupert des Forges has worked in London’s gilded postcodes for more than 30 years. More than half of this has been spent at Knight Frank.

Des Forges has overseen the headline sales of the penthouse floors at No 1 Grosvenor Square, 16 sales at Holland Park Villas, and the penthouses at Clarges Mayfair. He’s witnessed ‘the greater resilience’ that prime central London developments possess in a challenging market, and notes that the ‘deal count’ is improving from recent years.

He has noticed increasing international interest in fully serviced apartments, which are aligned with the global and ‘transient’ lifestyles of the contemporary HNW. ‘The demand for service therefore increases,’ he says. Nevertheless, the market is still led by the product, as the best properties often have the ability to retain most value.

Des Forges cut his teeth in the prime property market in Knightsbridge. ‘I certainly learnt my business from my first boss, Graeme Scott-Dalgleish, a partner at WA Ellis who was both relentlessly energetic and always highly professional,’ he recalls.