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Suburb for ultra-rich NRIs in London
BRITAIN?S SUPER-RICH Indians now have a new destination ? Northwood. They are transforming the quiet west London suburb into the country?s first ?millionaires? row? for a single ethnic minority.
BRITAIN’S SUPER-RICH Indians now have a new destination — Northwood. They are transforming the quiet west London suburb into the country’s first “millionaires’ row” for a single ethnic minority.
Homes worth over £1 million on Astons Road are being snapped up by Indians, and pulled down to make way for mansions worth up to £5 million — complete with indoor pools, sweeping marble staircases and landscaped gardens, reported the Sunday Times.
Many see the Indian invasion of Northwood as a natural corollary of NRIs getting super-rich, with more political and social worth. Wealthy Indians have been “infiltrating” London’s many upmarket areas. Indians own properties worth around £1 trillion in Britain, according to an estimate.
According to Northwood residents, nine out of 10 new buyers on Astons Road are Indians, eager to take advantage of the area’s respected private schools and terrific golf courses.
Just about two decades ago, their parents were living in dilapidated flats in nearby Southall. Raj Loomba — who owns a sprawling house, with a foyer resembling a courtyard of a Rajasthan palace, on Astons Road — started off as an ice-cream van driver.
He later made it big in the garments export business. Rami Ranger, who made money in the cargo business, owns a designer house with a manicured lawn.
Keith Vaz, MP for Leicester East, said: “(Indians) have shown through hard work that they are first-class contributors to Britain.” Lord Bikhu Parekh, who has extensively studied Asians in Britain, told HT: “The trend of a suburb of their own is typical of several minorities who live close to each other for security reasons.”
