Shanghai Daily – JOHN Angelo, co-founder of US$12 billion hedge-fund manager Angelo, Gordon & Co, said yesterday he doesn’t quibble about paying record rent for an office in London’s Mayfairdistrict, the world’s most expensive business location.
“If you’re going to impress clients, it has to be nice space,” Angelo said. He dismissed the 100 pounds (US$197) a square foot he’s paying to overlook Hanover Square, saying it’s a small proportionof his firm’s management fees, Bloomberg News said.
Angelo said his choice of Mayfair was as much about making employees happy as keeping up appearances. The area has become London’s hedge-fund alley as money managers look for offices closer todistricts such as Kensington and Chelsea, where many of them live. Spiraling rents are forcing some of the area’s biggest companies, including Rio Tinto Plc, to move out.
“It’s all about lifestyle,” said Christopher Brandon, 33, co-founder of Rhicon Currency Management, which oversees US$220 million in assets from an office on Piccadilly, which forms Mayfair’ssouthern boundary. Brandon said he grew tired of crossing the city every day to work in the financial district. His office is now an easy commute from his Notting Hill home.
