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Indian origin businessman breaks the UK’s office rental record

INDIAN origin businessman, Ravi Mehta has agreed to pay the highest ever office rent in the UK.

The 37-year-old India focussed hedge fund boss will pay £250 a square foot for his firm’s new headquarters in Mayfair.


Mehta will shift Steadview Capital Management into offices at 30 Berkeley Square.

The latest rent agreement for 2,700 square foot office space has crossed the previous record of £190 a square foot.

Based in the US, Mehta started his hedge fund in 2009 when he was just 27 years old.

Prior to his entry into his current business, Harvard University graduate had served as an analyst at Morgan Stanley and hedge fund Maverick Capital.

Mehta is married to Indian actress and model, Nicolette Bird, 34, in 2010.

Mehta’s business with about 10 employees specialises in Indian investments. In the last decade, the firm has grown to $2.5 billion (£1.92bn) in assets under management.

The firm invests in listed and private firms for an array of institutional investors, family offices, pension funds, and others.

Faisal Durrani from Knight Frank, an estate agency was quoted in The Times: “The record £250 a sq ft rent achieved in the West End comes as no surprise and underscores the depth of demand and the commitment global businesses are willing to make to London, Brexit or not.

“We’re in a supply-starved environment, with jobs growth at a historic high and these pressures are translating into requirement levels that far outstrip the available stock.”

Berkeley Square, famous as a home to hedge fund businesses. The location and its surrounding area is a home for some of the most luxurious shops and hospitality business in London.

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South Asian pubs poised for growth as government eases licensing rules

Highlights

  • Licensing reforms let pubs host events and serve outdoors with ease
  • South Asian workers turned pub rejection into a thriving desi pub scene.
  • South Asian pubs mix Indian cuisine, Punjabi beats, and British pub culture.

From rejection to reinvention

When south Asian foundry and factory workers arrived in England decades ago, they faced a harsh reality, refusal at the pub doors and their response was by building their own. From The Scotsman in Southall over 50 years old, run by Shinda Mahal, to Birmingham’s The Grove and The Covered Wagon, these establishments emerged as immigrant workers from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh moved to the West Midlands.

Now, as the UK government launches a fast-track review to scrap outdated licensing rules, these south Asian pubs stand ready to write a new chapter in British hospitality. “Pubs and bars are the beating heart of our communities. Under our Plan for Change, we’re backing them to thrive”, said prime minister Keir Starmer.

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