International Property Insights: French Real Estate

Hugh Wade-Jones, MD of Enness Global talks about how things are changing regarding multiple homes for the High Net Worth community. Multiple homes once seen as luxuries are now very much viewed as a necessity by the HNW community. There has been a huge spike in mortgage enquiries for the Riviera, by Parisians and Brits especially, as well as surging demand in UHNW hotspots such as Ibiza and St Bart's.

The opening session of an International Property Series, which will cover a variety of jurisdictions over the next 6 months. In this first session, we discussed the key tax, legal, wealth structuring and finance considerations for HNW clients investing in French Real Estate. We were delighted to be joined by: Hugh Wade-Jones - Managing Director, Enness, London.  Hugh co-founded Enness Global Mortgages in August 2007 alongside Islay Robinson.  Enness is the world's leading mortgage broker for High Net Worth Individuals borrowing across Europe and further afield. Hugh is a widely regarded mortgage industry leader, described by The Financial Times as the 'go to mortgage broker of the super-rich'. Frederic Mege - Director, Moores Rowland, Monaco. Frederic is a dual-qualified French and English private client lawyer (Avocat/Solicitor). He is a member of the Paris Bar Association, the Institut des Avocats Conseils Fiscaux (IACF), the Society for Tax and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Law Society (England & Wales). Frederic has many years of experience in advising private clients on personal tax and other legal issues. Liam Wilkinson - Principal Representative of France, Enness, Monaco. Liam relocated to France almost eight years ago to play professional rugby - Stade Nicois (City of Nice). He then joined Enness in May 2018 with a key focus of being the go-to mortgage broker for HNW clients (non-resident) purchasing a property in France / Monaco. Silvia Andriotto - Associate Director, JTC, Monaco. Silvia joined JTC in 2020 as Associate Director, having previously been responsible for the management of a Multi-Family Office in the Principality of Monaco. Throughout her career, Silvia has developed extensive experience in international corporate law, implementing cross-border instruments for multinational companies and (U)HNWI in multiple jurisdictions. Silvia holds a master's degree in law and is also a qualified Trust and Estate Practitioner, as well as having a certification in Digital Strategy from University INSEAD, Singapore. She speaks three languages: Italian, English and French and has previously worked in several financial centres, including Luxembourg and Zurich. In addition to lecturing in the fields of integration of law and technology, Silvia is also an active member of the European Law Institute - Special Interest Group - Digital Law.

Tony Keterman (CEO) and Mark Palmer (CCO) both of Hamilton Court FX discuss the current business climate with the CEO of Enness Global, Islay Robinson. Islay discusses the challenges he has had to overcome, how the property market has changed, where the market is going and how he has been able to strengthen his business model to ensure Enness Global are ready for any future economic shifts. Enness started up during the global financial crisis in 2007 when the founders saw a problem in the property market and the economy as a whole. Banks stopped lending, property prices collapsed, people lost their jobs. When the pandemic started their first expectation was that all of the banks would withdraw from the market, they’d drop their loan-to-value requirements, they wouldn't lend to niche areas. And the property market would collapse. But this time, that didn't happen. Government intervention was one thing. So that propped up the market and the banks didn't feel like they had to stop lending, which is usually a natural reaction of banks. And then all of a sudden, people started buying houses. Everyone expected the property market to be dead, but the Government fired up the marketplace with the Stamp Duty holiday. Then people started buying for security reasons; they started buying homes with gardens, with space outside the city where their children would feel safe. And now property prices are higher than they ever have been.  So in terms of what changed, lenders started lending more money, and it was phenomenal. And that's happened across Europe. As soon as international travel starts fully happening, we're going to see the Far East buyers come to London, London people going to France and this big movement of people internationally.

In the weekly series Toby Johncox, Head of Mortgage Sales, Enness Global Mortgages, hosted Nicolas Roux, Founder of Rive Gauche London, the full service luxury interior design company. The topic of the webinar was ‘How to maximise the value of your luxury property purchase‘. Nicolas works with high net worth international homeowners, property investors, property developers and 5 star hotels to deliver beautiful couture design and interior. With over fifteen years of experience behind a collection of world-class projects, including One Hyde Park, London, Nicolas is unique in his experience and knowledge of advising clients to ensure they make the ‘right’ property purchase, as well as maximising their investments. He brings unique insight into the challenges and complexities people face when developing a luxury property as well as how to avoid the common pitfalls. You can expect top tips for your next luxury property investment with everything from what to do before you buy, how to design and add value and how to organise a project for a smooth delivery.

Toby Johncox of Enness Global and Jordan Williams from Artorius talk about the importance of fully understanding your investment portfolio, exposure to risks and protecting wealth for future generations.