By The number of enquiries from the British film and TV industry has increased short-term lettings in London and the Home Counties, due to tax breaks and a weaker pound, according to a recent press release from Knight Frank.
Enquiries from the TV and film industry received by Knight Frank rose by 82 per cent in the year leading up to May, while the average weekly budget for searches saw an increase of 15 per cent, to £2,745.
Strong demand
There was strong demand across a number of various price brackets for production staff, crew and actors, meaning that weekly rents ranged from £750 to £30,000.
Some areas of London, such as Notting Hill and Holland Park, remained in high demand for film industry requests, with 18 per cent of film and TV-related enquiries found in those places alone.
Hampstead, Belsize Park and Richmond followed in terms of popularity with production crews, comprising 9 per cent of film and TV enquiries, while Kensington registered significant interest in 8 per cent of cases.
In recent years, the UK Government has been supporting the UK film, TV and video games industries through corporation tax relief. This has added almost £8 billion to the UK economy, creating 137,000 jobs in 2016 alone, Knight Frank noted.
Productions increase
At least 26 films entered into production in the first quarter of 2019, a marginal increase compared with the same period last year. Furthermore, television productions saw a major rise as well, despite having minimum spend conditions.
The total spent on high-end British television productions was £248 million in the first three months of 2019, a 62 per cent increase from the same period last year.
To offer one explanation for this trend, Knight Frank cited the pound having weakened approximately 14 per cent against the US dollar since the 2016 EU referendum, making the UK even more attractive for overseas capital.
Stevie Walmesley, head of luxury short lets at Knight Frank, commented: “The uptick in demand has been matched by the fact that more and more owners are open to the idea of renting out their property on a short-term basis rather than leave it unoccupied.”
Mr Walmesley concluded that people often find more considerate tenants coming from the film and TV industry, as they typically spend a lot of their time on set, helping reduce wear and tear for properties.
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