Real Estate

They include a very special detached seven bedroom family house in Kensington, an exclusive five bedroom apartment overlooking Kensington Palace Gardens and a stunning newly built luxury home of grand proportions totalling 14,358 sq ft.

Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, London

For Sale, 38,560,411 USD

A very special detached seven bedroom family house with off-street parking and a lovely south-west facing garden backing onto Holland Park. This impressive and wide house occupies approximately 6,520 sq ft and is very well arranged over five floors.

One Kensington Gardens, Kensington Road, London

For Sale, 33,419,023 USD

An exclusive five bedroom apartment overlooking Kensington Palace Gardens. An exceptional development, designed by Sir David Chipperfield, of 97 apartments situated opposite Kensington Palace and Gardens with world class amenities.

Greybrook House

For Sale, 32,080,073 USD

The penthouse at Greybrook House is the epitome of luxury nestled in the heart of Mayfair. The apartment has been designed to a phenomenally high standard and spans approximately 4599 square feet across two floors.

Elysian House

For Sale, 25,022,457 USD

A stunning newly built luxury home of grand proportions totalling 14,358 sq ft. This must-see masterpiece is set on Ingram Avenue, a highly sought-after leafy road in Hampstead Garden Suburb which is defined by absolute privacy by backing directly onto Turners Wood Bird Sanctuary. The property is within walking distance to Kenwood House as well as Hampstead Heath.

St Edmund’s Terrace, St John’s Wood, NW8

For Sale, 20,531,247 USD

A stunning four bedroom Penthouse apartment (350.3 sq. m / 3770 sq. m ) positioned within this luxury development and accessed via one of two private passenger lifts, The property benefits from an amazing wrap-around balcony offering breath-taking views across Primrose Hill, Regent’s Park and the London city skyline.

via@propgoluxury

The home has access to amenities in a neighboring luxury development

A modern houseboat moored on the River Thames that comes with a suite of hotel-like amenities has hit the market asking £1.75 million (US$2.25 million).

The floating three-bedroom residence, which was listed earlier this month, is docked off a gated pier where the Thames runs through the London suburb of Wandsworth. It also has access to a range of perks housed at the neighboring Riverside Quarter development, where there’s a mail room, pool, on-call concierge, steam and sauna rooms and several gyms, said Guy Bradshaw, head of London residential at United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty, which is listing the home.

The houseboat features the kinds of lavish finishes associated with a new home in prime London. Light, warm materials make the interiors feel spacious, including heated limestone floors, oak-paneled walls and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the water.

An eat-in kitchen spans half the lower level and opens onto a terrace for easy al-fresco dining.

via@mansionglobal

Continue Reading

London venue where the Rolling Stones and U2 played their early gigs is for sale

A hub for music acts since the Sixties, major names such as The Jam also staged early gigs at the W9 venue.

Now set for a new life, it’s on the market at £6.5 million with Lambert Smith Hampton.

Read More

Setting Up Company Partnerships under Thai Law

Siam Legal International | October 10, 2016 | Business in Thailand, Civil and Commercial Law, Company Law, Company Registration

The Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand provides for the formation of partnerships as is found in the laws of other countries. However, partnerships are normally not formed by foreign investors due to particular difficulties that arise due to the Foreign Business Act of 1999. Generally speaking, the formation of a limited company is more advantageous to foreign investors since majority Thai-owned companies with foreign directors are still considered “Thai nationals” for the purposes of the Foreign Business Act. In contrast, partnerships, even if formed with majority Thai capital investment, are still considered “foreign nationals” if the managing partner is a foreign national. Nevertheless, it is possible for foreign nationals to operate business in Thailand as a partnership in certain cases, such as if they are operating a business that is unrestricted by the Foreign Business Act, or if they have obtained a Foreign Business License or a Foreign Business Certificate under the Thai-U.S. Treaty of Amity. A few of the notable points regarding the operation of a partnership is as follows:

There are three forms of partnerships: an unregistered ordinary partnership, a registered ordinary partnership, and a limited partnership.
As for the unregistered ordinary partnership, it refers to a business partnership arising from a contract and does not constitute a juristic person. The partners are jointly and unlimitedly liable for the obligations of the partnership and are bound to each other by the terms of their partnership agreement. If an ordinary partnership is then registered, it will have the status of being a juristic person. Nevertheless the partners are still personally liable to third parties.

Read more

The Phuket condominium market is expected to rise in line with a recovering economy and the growing population of the island.

Increasing supply and higher selling prices will be the key drivers, while demand is forecast to improve slightly. Local developers and joint ventures will be key players in the market, said property consultant Knight Frank Thailand.

Demand will continue to be driven by international buyers and investors from China, Russia, and Australia. Knight Frank expects a larger portion of South Korean buyers in the following years. Average asking prices per square metre are anticipated to rise in all areas, while increasing demand for luxury condominium units may see prices approaching a new high in 2018, especially for properties located by the sea.

Luxury buyers tend to buy them for their own residence or long-term capital appreciation.

Phuket’s Smart City is also expected to stimulate demand in the city. The initiative aims to transform the province into a “smart economy and smart living community” and establish the city as a hub of digital industry that will attract investors and tourists alike. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

Phuket’s condominium market took a fall in 2017. The total number of units launched last year decreased 29% to 1,736 from 2,478 in 2016. On the demand front, there were 1,147 condos sold in 2017, down 36% year-on-year.

Newly launched supply with a sea view, partial sea view, or no sea view accounted for 44%, 54%, and 2%, respectively. The majority of the developments are in the high-end segment, principally located in Karon, Naiharn, and Bangtao.

Condominium projects launched in 2017 recorded an average take-up rate of 66%, down 6% year-on-year. However, projects with affordable pricing, attractive down payment packages, exceptional amenities, and convenient locations achieved higher sales within weeks of their launch.

The average asking price per square metre for all new condominium projects launched in the Phuket market last year surged to 135,719 baht, up by 2.5% year-on-year.

Read more

Shareholder meetings play an important role in the governance of Thai limited companies since the Civil and Commercial Code require that limited companies be managed by the directors under the control of meetings of the shareholders (called “general meetings” in the Code). The primary instrument used by the general meetings to govern the company are shareholder meeting resolutions which are passed by a majority vote of the shareholders attending the meetings. However, an important legal issue that arises in regards to shareholder meeting resolutions concerns the withdrawal of resolutions after they have been passed by a meeting. Section 1195 of the Civil and Commercial Code provide for the withdrawal of company resolutions. According to that section, a resolution must be withdrawn by court order. Furthermore, only a shareholder or director has standing to challenge a resolution and may make such an application to the Court.

Read more

Real estate’s reputation as a valuable investment asset strengthens further in the Thai capital

Bangkok’s property market is going from strength-to-strength, according to DDproperty’s latest Property Index.

The Thai capital has displayed price growth with an eight-point increase from 205 to 213 in the first quarter of 2018. This growth is on the back of an improving economic outlook and an expected increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year to 4.2 percent (up 0.3 percent y-o-y), and in part due to the rising cost of developing projects in the popular but densely built-up areas in Bangkok.

The Index has jumped by 213 percent in the last three years, fuelled by hot land prices which has meant that affordable residential developments are being pushed further from the city centre, most commonly along mass transit extension lines.

“The sophistication of Bangkok’s property market is more apparent now than ever,” said Kamolpat Swaengkit, Country Manager for DDproperty. “As values continue to move upwards, property’s reputation as a valuable investment asset strengthens further. Developers are therefore taking note and it is no wonder that the year has welcomed joint ventures between local and foreign developers eyeing potential across the city. They have become a lot more selective on the kinds of projects they work on, with the focus on building the ‘right’ property for the location and ensuring it is suited to its target audience. We have seen a real shift in the market with this renewed attention to detail.”

Read more

Shareholder meetings are an important element in the management of Thai limited companies, since the authorized directors of the company must manage the company under the control of the meetings of the shareholders. In order to hold a meeting of the shareholders, a meeting has to be called according to the procedure defined in the Civil and Commercial Code. One of the procedures according to the Code is that a notification must be delivered to the shareholders.

Section 1175 paragraph one requires that an advertisement must be published in a local newspaper at least once before the date of the meeting no less than 7 days in advance and a notification must be sent by post with acknowledgment of receipt to all shareholders whose name appears in the shareholder registry no less than 7 days in advance of the date of meeting. However, for extraordinary meetings of the shareholders, the aforementioned procedure must be performed no less than 14 days in advance of the date of the meeting.

According to Section 1244, a notification shall be deemed to be delivered to a shareholder if it is delivered to him personally. Furthermore, if the notification has been delivered to the address of the shareholder that appears in the shareholder registry, the shareholder shall be deemed to have been duly notified.

According to Thai Supreme Court Decision No. 384/2506: “Section 1175 of the Civil and Commercial Code regarding notifications of a general meeting of the company only requires that a notification of the meeting be sent no less than 7 days. Therefore, where the Defendant, who is a company liquidator, has sent a notification by post no less than 7 days in advance of the meeting and Plaintiff, who is a shareholder, has received it, then it shall be deemed that Defendant delivered the notice correctly according to the law and it is not relevant as to what day Plaintiff actually received it.”

Furthermore, Section 1175 paragraph two requires that the time and location of the meeting be indicated in the notification, as well as the agenda for the meeting. If a special resolution is to be considered, then the substance of the resolution must be included in the notice.

According to Thai Supreme Court Decision No. 2644/2520 “a general meeting wherein a matter is considered outside of the agenda, a resolution passed by the shareholders to pay a debt which the shareholders themselves are the creditor and have a personal interest violates Section 1174 and 1175.”

Thai corporate law is complex. Foreigners who are in charge of managing a Thai limited company are advised to consult with competent Thailand lawyers.

Read more

All eyes on the Andaman as the nation’s second-highest office issues directive on the ‘Riviera’

The coast of mainland Thailand facing the Andaman Sea has got the shorter end of the tourism stick, compared with its eastern counterpart.

Addressing this imbalance, the Tourism and Sports Ministry will be proposing the Riviera Thailand project during a Cabinet retreat in Phetchaburi on Tuesday. The announcement was made at the request of Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, revealed Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat on Sunday.

The Riviera, a coastal stretch that includes such towns as Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Ranong, has long been overlooked for tourist spots along the Gulf of Thailand, the deputy prime minister reasoned.

“The Andaman has been ignored by Thais because it doesn’t have the legacy of Hua Hin nor road access, and the hotels are about beaches, while most Thais prefer more urban-type destinations,” said Bill Barnett, managing director of hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks.

Read more

The requirements and legal procedures involved in buying land in Thailand as a company (particularly with foreign shareholders) is quite complex. Siam Legal has therefore compiled this reference guide to help its corporate clients prepare the necessary documents and evidence required in order to avoid needless mistakes and costly delays when appearing before the Land Official for the transfer of ownership. The guide below can also generally apply to condominium transactions, except that foreign companies are not restricted from owning condominium units outright.

Read more