Hedge fund pays highest-ever UK office rent in Mayfair

London’s hedge-fund heartland has broken a record for the UK’s highest office rent, the Evening Standard can reveal.

The Mayfair move by Asia-focused hedgie Steadview Capital will see it take space, around 3000 square feet, at 30 Berkeley Square for its new London base, also the home of the famous Phillips auction house.

The firm, which was founded by former Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Mehta, is believed to have agreed to pay £250 per square foot. That is well above what is thought to be the most recent UK high: the £190 per square foot paid by fashion investment tycoon Lawrence Stroll in St James’s in 2017.

Property agents CBRE and Pilcher Hershman, which brokered the Steadview deal, declined to comment. Steadview could not be reached for comment.

Westminster Property Association director Charles Begley said: “This deal demonstrates a remarkable level of confidence in Mayfair, and shows that despite the political uncertainties, the West End remains hugely attractive to business.”

Begley added: “Rising rents also underline the shortage of office space, which unlike most areas of the capital, has actually fallen in Westminster in recent years.”