The West End will recover from the Covid-19 pandemic faster than the City of London, according to K&K Property Holdings chief executive Kino Law.

The Hong Kong investors bought Corinthian House in December from Arcadia Group for £65m

The Hong Kong investor told Property Week that the arrival of Crossrail one and two, combined with the occupation of big-name tech companies such as Facebook and Google, will bring strong opportunities to the area.

“After the pandemic, I believe the West End market will pick up faster than the City,” he said. “I believe the pandemic’s impact will be short and temporary, and the recovery curve will be rapid and strong.  

“There’s something that working from home cannot replace, and that is the lifestyle. Having a drink or dinner in the West End after work makes life more cheerful.

“I think the West End will still be the West End. People want to come in for business or for leisure and it is still going to be the main hub for London – I do not think that there’s going to be a big or dramatic change there.”

K&K bought West End buildings Endeavour House and Arcadia Group’s Corinthian House late last year for a combined £180m, both of which are  within five minutes’ walk of Tottenham Court Road station.

“I can see that the regeneration programme of the area is going to bring up a lot of fresh offers to the area,” said Law. “So I’m quite bullish about it all. I can see that some occupational markets here is very strong, especially the technology, media and telecom  sectors. It’s a very strong reason for us to park our money in this area,” said Law.

The investor was one of the names lined up to buy the £210m BT centre in 2019, but lost out to Orion Capital Managers. Law did not rule out future acquisition opportunities in the City.

Law added: “When I look back on the BT deal, it was unlucky for us not to get it. But at the same time, I like the flexi lifestyle in the West End market.”