Rich Indian parents buying property in London with eye on kid's schools

Indians have emerged as the fourth-largest group of overseas buyers of property in London

Rich Indian parents keen to educate their children at leading British schools have helped drive up overseas demand for homes in London, a high-end estate agent has found in its latest property analysis report.

Indians have emerged as the fourth-largest group of overseas buyers of property in London, after China, Russia and the US, which has led to 2 billion pounds of investment over the past year, Knight Frank notes in its 'Wealth Report' released this week.

"Education is an important demand source among Indians in the central London million-pound-plus market," said Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's head of research.

"The attraction for wealthy parents is to find good private schools in the UK, particularly London, which then provides a boarding option for parents who can visit over the holidays. Also, it is longer term investment, as a base for the student who may go on to university in the UK and explore future job prospects in the country," he explained.

The 'Wealth Report' also finds that the number of Indian "demi-billionaires", or those with a net worth of USD 500 million, is set to rise from 200 in 2017 to 340 in 2022, with demand for property in London expected to remain robust within this segment.

According to Bailey, the trend among buyers from India contrasts with that from Southeast Asian countries as Indians are open to both newer as well as more traditional developments to invest in.

While buyers from Singapore and Hong Kong tend to focus only on new-build properties, Indians are willing to invest in both new-build and more established homes in prime London areas of Mayfair and Chelsea.

"Among the younger Indian demographic, we are also seeing a trend of investing in the City (financial hub), east of London. The Indian demand is fairly broad," Bailey said.

Overall, Knight Frank's analysis found that the uncertainty engendered by the Brexit process of Britain's impending exit from the European Union (EU) next year does not appear to be having any significant "dampening effect" on the attraction of London's most expensive properties for local or global buyers. (more)

No coercive steps against Umar Khalid till Friday, HC tells JNU

The Delhi High Court on Thursday restrained the Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) from taking any coercive steps against the student-activist Umar Khalid till Friday.

"JNU shall not take any coercive action against the petitioner (Khalid)," Justice Siddharth Mridul said and listed the matter for Friday for further hearing.

Khalid was rusticated and fined by a university panel in connection with a 2016 incident when anti-India slogans were allegedly raised at an event.

Justice Siddharth Mridul's order came while hearing Khalid's plea challenging the university's order which has imposed a fine against him.

The court also issued notice to JNU and others and sought the response on the student's plea.

Khalid's advocate told the court that former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar has also approached the court and his matter is listed for Friday for further hearing.

Kumar in his plea has sought quashing of the order passed by JNU through its Chief Proctor on July 4.

JNU on July 4's order held Kumar and others guilty under clause of Discipline and Proper Conduct of Students of JNU and fined them.

The order has been issued based on the report by a high-level enquiry committee that was set up on February 11, 2016.

An enquiry found student-activist Umar Khalid, along with Kumar and Anirban Bhattacharya, guilty in the February 2016 episode in which a group of young men allegedly raised "anti-national" slogans.

It had also recommended rustication of Umar Khalid apart from imposing financial penalty on 13 other students for violation of disciplinary norms.

Kumar, a member of the Communist Party of India's student wing, was the President of the varsity's student union that year.

The three were accused -- though none yet chargesheeted by police -- of raising slogans against the integrity of India during a poetry-reading gathering of students at Sabarmati Dhaba inside the JNU campus on February 9, 2016.

Article Source : BS