“ THIS IS AN EXCITING NEW CHAPTER FOR SLOANE STREET, AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A MORE DYNAMIC CITYSCAPE CONNECTING KNIGHTSBRIDGE AND SLOANE SQUARE”


generally. Our aim here – subject to obtaining support from relevant authorities, including the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea – is to create a public environment with an elegance to reflect the pedigree of the extraordinary brands that occupy the street.


“It’s about approaching the design of the environment within the context of the whole street rather than it being just piece meal.”


Unlike the other great landed estates of central London – Grosvenor, Portman and Howard de Walden – the majority of Cadogan’s commercial properties are shops rather than offices.


Sloane Street is home to some of what Seaborn describes as the ‘über brands’ of international retailing. Names such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Prada, Armani, Tiffany, Cartier and Chloé are clustered a short walk from Harrods and Harvey Nichols.


The Duke of York Square development is located at the eastern end of King’s Road and has been a tremendous success for the estate. When it opened in 2003 it was the largest public space to be created in London for many years. Today it is home to more than 30 premium retailers, restaurants and the iconic Saatchi Gallery of contemporary art.


The performance of these great assets under Cadogan’s stewardship saw the estate win the Unlisted Specialist Fund award at the latest IPD/IPF UK Property Investment Awards. The award cited the estate’s ‘outstanding’ 16.3% pa three-year return.


Seaborn says the award demonstrates the quality of the estate’s portfolio and its “consistent application of a careful estate management approach and singular stewardship of the area”.


The other major component of its holdings is residential.


Cadogan supported the local authority’s application to be exempt from the government’s presumption in favour of office-to-residential conversion and Seaborn stresses the importance of maintaining a balance of uses on the estate.


“As an estate we’re entrusted with a responsibility for positive place-making. It’s about creating a mixture of uses, not just the highest value uses. We want to create a place which is highly desirable as a place to work, live and visit – somewhere that accommodates different people and different uses at different times of the day, renowned for its vibrant and dynamic community.”


Preserving the balance of the estate demands careful and sensitive development. At 131 Sloane Street, two 1950s buildings are being replaced by a new 100,000 sq ft development including 45,000 sq ft of offices, six flagship retail units fronting Sloane Street and nine artisan retail units to the rear with a lush piazza and destination restaurant. The scheme is due to complete in mid-2015 and marketing of the Sloane Street retail units will start soon.


Whereas Sir Hans Sloane used to collect specimens from the natural world, the estate he began now collects buildings. There is a sustained programme of buying ‘strategic’ ownerships


which adjoin the estate’s existing holdings – in the past two years, Cadogan has spent more than £260m on this strategy. About a third of that was spent buying in residential ownerships and the rest was commercial property acquisitions.


“We’re constantly looking out for opportunities,” Seaborn reports.


“In addition to making sure we are buying properties at the right market price, our investments need to meet two additional, important criteria. Firstly, the building works in its own right and secondly, that we can see broader opportunities in the investment; that it contributes to the estate in some way.”


So there is no shortage of work for the Cadogan team, but while the deals and developments are important, it is clear what Seaborn relishes most.


“The benefit of having so much property in such close proximity is that our investment decisions can have an impact that is far bigger than if you owned the same amount of property but more widely disbursed. The scale of improvement that is possible is tremendous.


“We have some big developments, and I get engrossed in those, but above all, I enjoy the opportunity to make a difference. If we can improve the public realm and enhance the character of the estate while delivering value, that is very satisfying.”


You get the feeling Sir Hans would approve.


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