The army of invisible workers looking after the homes of Britain's super-rich

Telegraph

02-07-2025

Running a home takes a lot of work – so spare a thought for those with multiple homes scattered across the world.
Pipes burst, TVs break, bills need paying and fridges need filling. And a heated swimming pool takes two days to reach the optimum temperature, which is not ideal if the plan is only to be in town for a weekend.
These homes belonging to the world's richest people don't just sit dormant while owners are away, says Mark Breffit of Hamptons Private Office. 'They are finely tuned ecosystems which require a specialist cast working behind the scenes.'
They require what Breffit refers to as 'a symphony of niche services', including pet therapists to settle relocated animals, specialist art cleaners to 'dust the Hockneys' before a summer return and service 'air filters in country homes that mimic the humidity levels of London penthouses'.
It is the modern equivalent of the domestic service of Edwardian times, when the number of servants employed was a key indicator of social status.
Eccord provides property management services for wealthy nomadic clients. Each house under its care has a property manual noting down essential information, from Wi-Fi passwords, appliance serial numbers and alarm codes to insurance policies and paint colours for each room.
The company keeps on top of maintenance issues, including bespoke chandelier cleaning, lightbulb replacement schedules and fortnightly inspections while owners are away to meet insurance policy requirements. The team carry out walk-throughs where every light is switched on and off, hot taps are run (to fend off Legionnaire's Disease) and alarms are tested.
If these roles aren't contracted out to a property management company, the other option is to employ staff. The grandest homes have housekeepers, gardeners, nannies and two chefs – to stave off becoming bored with one style of cooking.
Izzy Boland runs Cora Partners, which provides the wealthy and famous with staff. 'The richer or more high profile you are, the more help you need in your life to make it run smoothly,' she says,
Demands from clients have never ceased to surprise her. One family has nine nannies for their three children working two-week shifts, with someone on retainer for the holidays.
'We have a client based between New York, London and Milan. They're so concerned that their young dog is spending too much time on their private jet, we're recruiting an Italian-speaking dog nanny to enable the dog to have a more consistent life.'
Describing her role as something akin to a matchmaking service, often it's not just a question of finding a person with the right chemistry to fit into the household, but also the right looks (or dress size) – although these specifications are omitted from job descriptions.
'With the ultra wealthy, image is important and staff therefore have to be on brand. That can extend to nannies being dressed in designer clothing.'
One client has 35 members of staff, all of whom are under the age of 35 and a size 10 or smaller. With an extensive art collection, they didn't want to have the aesthetics 'diluted' by their staff not looking the part, according to Boland.
For the very high-profile homeowner, the search becomes more nuanced – actors likely to be 'papped' at an airport don't want their staff to be taller, prettier or slimmer than themselves. So much of their success is based on their brand, explains Boland.
Tastes and demands differ between nationalities. The Middle Eastern wealthy travel with their staff. Americans tend to like uniformity; Boland has a client who owns 10 properties, and every dinner plate and toothbrush is the same in each one – 'it makes logistics easy when replacing things', she adds.
Continental Europeans like having butlers, while the British people she works with are more discreet and tend not to have such large retinues of staff, favouring stability of service over glitz and glamour.
In all cases, houses need to be in shipshape all the time. As global nomads, clients turn up at a property with less than 12 hours' warning and could require the chef to produce a supper for a dozen people with only a few minutes' notice, so will keep a core team of staff.
'Being prepared, proactive and patient is key. These people often change their minds at the drop of a hat,' says Boland.
She works with MEUM, a company that provides the super wealthy with professional support for their families and businesses. It was set up by employment lawyer, Sofia Syed, who advises on the problematic balancing act that a property is at once a private home for the owners, but also a place of work for the staff.
Among the conundrums that land on her desk is if the owner of the property swims naked in their pool. It can be deemed as sexual harassment to those who work in the house. In an ordinary office environment, most people are aware of the rules of conduct, but in a household, there's plenty of room for error, she explains.
Post #MeToo, there's a greater awareness of individual rights and a platform to speak out. But with that comes an opportunity for some to take advantage.
'Employees can throw sex discrimination, harassment, race discrimination or PTSD at their employers knowing that their often public profiles mean they'll most often want to settle out of court,' says Syed.
'It means erecting guard rails wherever possible, and that's where I come in,' adds Syed. A client was in touch about hiring a live-in housekeeper. Her first question? To establish the make-up of the household.
'It was a divorced man and his dog living in a London house. It raised alarm bells. In this world, you have to foresee problems before they arise. That means establishing clear lines of duties and ways of maintaining privacy.'
While staffing a London property is one thing, it's often harder to do in the countryside, explains chartered surveyor Philip Eddell of Eddell & Co, a property consultancy. He advises owners of large and complex houses in London and the country, some of which have running costs of more than £1m a year.
'The larger the house and the grounds, the more staff is required,' says Eddell. Country houses are more likely to have tennis courts, pools, lakes and ponds, all of which require maintenance.
'The classic solution for a country house is a couple who live on-site with one working outside on gardening, maintenance and driving, while the other is focused on the house,' adds Eddell.
The reality is that recruiting the perfect couple is tricky – rarely are the best gardeners married to the best housekeepers – and when they are, they can command a joint salary of over £100,000 with accommodation (and associated charges and costs) included.
Eccord charges its clients £120 an hour plus VAT for property management services. This can even include tasks such as sending someone to the house to double check a ring is safe at home after a last-minute panic from the owner while taxiing on the runway at Heathrow.
Without live-in staff, housekeeping in London costs between £20 and £25 an hour. It quickly adds up. The team at Eccord have just hired a housekeeper for a client who will go in three times a week for five hours, which will cost around £1,500 a month plus National Insurance contributions. They estimate gardening services for a small back yard to come in at approximately £6,000 per year.
Some of the very rich are tightening their purse strings, says Syed. The team at Prime Purchase, a buying agency, report a similar situation in the country where some clients are 'drastically cutting their retinue of staff as the minimum wage has risen, alongside all running costs,' explains Guy Meacock.
Age is another factor impacting the level of help required or desired. 'The younger demographic would rather do things themselves and can with the tech available, enabling them to maintain more control.'