Latest news with #BHGroup
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BH Group acquires Windermere and four other hotels in UK
Real estate investment and development company BH Group has broadened its portfolio with the acquisition of The Windermere Hotel in Cumbria and four other hotels in England. UK-based business property adviser Christie & Co has facilitated the sale of the properties. The Windermere Hotel features 74 en-suite bedrooms. Amenities available at the property include two restaurant areas, a public bar, gardens, and a private car park. The property is the inaugural hotel established in the Lake District in 1847 in Windermere. Christie & Co local hotel agent Graham Wilkinson said: 'We are pleased to have worked with the vendors and purchasers to complete this acquisition of a significant and well-known Lake District hotel. 'It reflects the confidence in the hotel sector in Cumbria and the Lake District. BH Group pursued this hotel with vigour, and we are delighted to have reached this successful outcome. We know they have very exciting plans for this hotel.' In addition to The Windermere, BH Group purchased the Imperial Hotel in Exmouth, the Burlington Hotel in Eastbourne, and both the St Ives Bay Hotel and Ship and Castle Hotel in Cornwall. BH Group chief information officer James Routledge said: 'These hotels form the basis of our drive into the growing staycation market. We are excited by these opportunities and others we are currently seeing in the market.' Christie & Co Hotels director Stephen Champion said: 'This latest transaction takes us to a total of 31 successfully completed Coast & Country sales to a wide range of buyers.' The sale of The Windermere Hotel follows Christie & Co's recent facilitation of The Merrion Hotel in Llandudno, North Wales, which was acquired by Four Saints Hotels for an asking price of £4.5m ($6.02m). "BH Group acquires Windermere and four other hotels in UK" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Newsweek
08-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Florida Trying To Lure NYC Business Leaders After Mamdani's Victory
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Florida has emerged as an unlikely winner from New York City's mayoral primary race, which marked the triumph of Zohran Mamdani, as wealthy investors scared off by the young left-wing candidate's ideas seem set to look for better opportunities in the South. Real estate professionals are the first to believe that the Sunshine State will reap huge benefits from Mamdani's victory. Mere hours after the primary election's results, some were already reporting a surge in interest for Florida properties among New York City-based investors. "We saw an immediate spike in interest," Isaac Toledano, CEO & Co-founder of BH Group, one of South Florida's most active luxury developers, told Newsweek. "Within a day of the primary results, we had serious inquiries from buyers in Manhattan and Connecticut. One asked about the Ritz-Carlton Residences in West Palm Beach, the other about the West Pompano Beach Hotel & Residences." Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/AP/Canva "We've seen more interest, especially from clients who were already keeping an eye on Florida. Mamdani's victory seems to have accelerated those conversations," Peggy Olin, CEO of OneWorld Properties, an expert leading sales and marketing for some of South Florida's top luxury towers, told Newsweek. "People are asking more questions about timing, taxes, and long-term lifestyle changes. It's less about panic and more about planning. They're being proactive." Wealthy Homebuyers And Business Leaders Welcome There is a certain buzz all across the Sunshine State for the riches that Mamdani's victory could bring to the local markets—especially in Florida's most luxurious cities. "Time to move to Miami," Miami-based real estate developer Alex Witkoff wrote on X after former Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded to the relatively unknown 33-year-old state politician. "Just when you thought Palm Beach real estate couldn't go any higher...," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on the social media platform. Miami Mayor Philip Levine said on social media, "Florida should pay for Mamdani's campaign" because of how much the candidate's victory is benefiting the state. Florida Council of 100, a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization of Florida business leaders who advise the state's governor, wrote a letter addressed to New York CEOs calling for them to relocate their operations in the Sunshine State. "Today, New York's future feels increasingly uncertain—an unacceptable risk for business leaders responsible for their businesses and the families that rely upon them," they wrote. "Florida offers a better path." In the Sunshine State, they argued, "government is a partner in growth, not a barrier." A clear reference to Mamdani's plans to reform the city's tax system to force "richer and whiter" neighborhoods to pay more and freeze the rent for over 2 million residents—a move that has upset wealthy landlords. "Our clients who own buildings across NYC are deeply concerned about the rent freeze tied to Mayor Mamdani's agenda," Jay Batra, a real estate entrepreneur and the principal of Batra Real Estate, a full-service real estate brokerage in New York City and Miami, told Newsweek. "Landlords are facing mounting pressure—with high taxes and operating costs, it's becoming unsustainable to hold properties without the ability to adjust rents. Many are now evaluating out-of-state investments as a safer, more profitable alternative. New York City's 'Sixth Borough' Mamdani's victory is just "the latest shoe to drop in New York," John Boyd, principal at the location advisory firm The Boyd Co, told Newsweek, after the city has faced what he calls a migrant "crisis, [rising] street and subway crime, antisemitism unrest on City campuses, congestion pricing and soaring taxes." The city has experienced several spurts of activity from wealthy investors looking to relocate out of the state in recent years, Boyd said, and this latest one is focusing on South Florida. This part of the Sunshine State "has become known as 'New York City's sixth borough' due to the longstanding synergies and migration there from high-tax New York to low-tax Florida," he said. "Florida's more relaxed approach to COVID-19—which contrasted starkly to New York closed policies—really opened the floodgate during the pandemic and it has never stopped and is now spiking again with the prospect of a socialist mayor running the financial capital of the world," Boyd said. The movement of New York City high-net-worth individuals to Florida is so established, Boyd said, that Boca Raton in Palm Beach County is becoming known as "Wall Street South" given its popularity as "a landing spot for major banking and financial services firms like Colony Capital and Wealthspire Advisors and billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman, founder of New York City-based Omega Advisors." Florida, as a state with no income tax and a ban on rent regulation, offers a kind of reassurance to wealthy investors that they started to doubt they would find in New York City—especially if Mamdani is elected mayor in November. Olin said that she expects most New York City-based investors who are considering relocating to Florida not to wait until then. "I think we'll continue to see movement, especially among buyers who've already been considering a change," she said. "If Mamdani wins and those policy concerns materialize, it could push more people to act. But again, this isn't just about leaving, it's about choosing a place that feels like the right fit for the next chapter. And for many, Florida checks a lot of those boxes." Boyd, for one, is ready for the big shift. "Our corporate site selection firm has never experienced the level of 'leaving New York' interest that we are seeing today, largely due to the prospects of New York City's top elected official being a socialist—an unthinkable event just a few years ago," he said. "Our phones have been ringing off the hook from companies wishing to find the best relocation option should they decide to leave New York. While Boyd expects "a major shift of corporate investment and job creation out of New York City should Mamdani prevail in the fall," he thinks that there will still be "a contingent of Wall Streeters and major elements of the City's corporate community" who would choose to remain in the Big Apple. "For some companies, their ties to New York City are just too deep to relocate elsewhere."
Newsweek
01-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
New Yorkers 'Accelerating' Florida Move Plans After Mamdani Victory
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Zohran Mamdani's surprise victory at New York City's Democratic mayoral primary last week has stunned the metropolis's wealthy buyers, who are reportedly looking to buy properties in other, more favorable locations—especially in Florida. "Within a day of the primary results, we had serious inquiries from buyers in Manhattan and Connecticut," Isaac Toledano, CEO & Co-founder of BH Group, one of South Florida's most active luxury developers, told Newsweek. "One asked about the Ritz-Carlton Residences in West Palm Beach, the other about the West Pompano Beach Hotel & Residences," he said. For many wealthy buyers looking into relocating from New York City to Florida, the idea of leaving the Big Apple is more than a Plan B in case Mamdani wins the mayoral election later this year. It is a strategic investment they are doing right now. "A few weeks ago, we sold two penthouses at the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Hammock Dunes near St. Augustine for a combined $20 million, which set records for Palm Coast and all of Flagler County," Toledano said. "One of those buyers was from New Jersey. He already had a part-time home in Florida but decided he wanted to be here full-time. I can't say if that particular transaction was because of everything leading up to the election, but it's another clear sign that people across the country are choosing to plant roots here," he added. "When conversations start moving that fast, it tells you people aren't just paying attention. They're preparing to make real decisions." Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva "We've seen more interest, especially from clients who were already keeping an eye on Florida," Peggy Olin, CEO of OneWorld Properties, an expert leading sales and marketing for some of South Florida's top luxury towers and working closely with international and out-of-state buyers, told Newsweek. "Mamdani's victory seems to have accelerated those conversations. People are asking more questions about timing, taxes, and long-term lifestyle changes. It's less about panic and more about planning. They're being proactive." What Does Mamdani Have To Do With It? Jay Batra, a real estate entrepreneur and the principal of Batra Real Estate, a full-service real estate brokerage in New York City and Miami, is perfectly positioned to notice this shift in interest between New York and Florida in the wake of Mamdani's victory. "We're seeing a noticeable pause among luxury buyers in New York City, many of whom are redirecting their search to more tax-friendly, lifestyle-driven markets like Miami and South Florida," Batra told Newsweek. "With political and economic uncertainty in NYC, high-end clients are increasingly turning to South Florida for both primary and investment properties." For Batra, it is Mamdani's radical rent agenda, which has promised New Yorkers rent freezes, that is scaring wealthy buyers. "Our clients who own buildings across NYC are deeply concerned about the rent freeze tied to Mayor Mamdani's agenda. Landlords are facing mounting pressure—with high taxes and operating costs, it's becoming unsustainable to hold properties without the ability to adjust rents," he said. "Many are now evaluating out-of-state investments as a safer, more profitable alternative." In his campaign, the 33-year-old mayoral hopeful has also proposed to reform the New York City's tax system to tax "richer and whiter" neighborhoods more, a promise that is likely to scare wealthy investors off. "High-end buyers value stability above all else," Toledano said. "The moment politics feel unpredictable, they start exploring other options," he added. For many wealthy investors, the Democratic mayoral primary signaled that there are a lot of unknowns about the city's future. "Whether it's taxes, safety, or the overall business climate, uncertainty makes people uneasy. No one wants to wake up one morning and feel their investment or their family's security is at risk," Toledano said. "They want peace of mind, and they're ready to make a change to find it." "When political narratives shift, especially around taxes, wealthy buyers take notice. These are people who've spent their lives building something, and they want to protect it," Olin said. "Mamdani represents a vision for the city that some high-end buyers feel may no longer align with their values or financial goals. It's not a reaction out of fear but out of wanting more control over their future." Why Florida? There are several reasons why wealthy investors may be looking to Florida as an alternative—including that the state has a thriving and well-established luxury market. "They're looking for the best of the best. Buyers at this level don't want to compromise on location, design, or quality of life. Branded residences are part of the appeal because they offer strong amenities and a lifestyle people can rely on," Toledano said. "If you're spending several million dollars on a home, you expect security, service, and long-term value. That's why we're seeing interest not only across South Florida but also in places like Hammock Dunes and on the West Coast in Naples. People feel confident they're making a solid investment in a place they'll enjoy living." There is also, of course, the fact that Florida has a favorable tax environment—no state income tax, and lawmakers are making ongoing efforts to lower property taxes for homeowners, if not to abolish them entirely. "Florida checks all the boxes. No state income tax, a strong pro-growth economy, top-tier schools and infrastructure, and a lifestyle that's hard to match. You can live near the beach, raise a family, and still feel like your investment is protected. For many buyers, that combination is powerful," Toledano said. Will New York City Face An Exodus Of Wealthy Buyers If Mamdani Is Elected? Toledano thinks that we're already seeing the early signs of a future exodus of wealthy buyers from New York City. "People don't wait until after an election to make decisions about their families, their finances, or their future. A few calls today can turn into dozens or hundreds of buyers in the months ahead," he said. "If the uncertainty grows, the migration will only pick up speed." And South Florida will continue benefiting from this hemorrhaging of wealthy buyers, he said. "It offers a sense of security they're not feeling in New York right now. That's why I believe this summer and the rest of the year could be busier than anyone expects," he said. "The demand is there, and the interest we're seeing—from Manhattan to New Jersey to Connecticut—is proof that people are ready to move their lives and their capital here." Should Mamdani be elected mayor of New York City and the policy concerns feared by wealthy buyers materialize, "it could push more people to act" and leave the city and the state, Olin said. "But again, this isn't just about leaving, it's about choosing a place that feels like the right fit for the next chapter. And for many, Florida checks a lot of those boxes."
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Zohran Mamdani's win could mean more wealthy New York transplants to Florida, developer says
South Florida experienced a wave of new residents from the Northeast during the pandemic as people fled strict lockdowns, school closures and the shuttering of businesses. But will there be another surge out of New York City with democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani poised to become the Democratic nominee for mayor? Mamdani, 33, who declared victory in the party's primary June 24, campaigned on promises that some business owners and affluent residents oppose. Those include freezing rental costs, offering free childcare, eliminating city bus fares, creating city-owned grocery stores, and hiking the taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and biggest corporations. "Just when you thought Palm Beach real estate couldn't go any higher … ," Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a social media post with a link to a poll that put Mamdani ahead of opponent and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo before the primary results were released. One day after the election, at least one South Florida developer said he and his properties had gotten calls from people in New Jersey, Manhattan and Connecticut who are interested in moving to Florida. "Obviously, what they see happening makes them nervous and they want to plan their future and have peace of mind," said Isaac Toledano, CEO and co-founder of BH Group, which is working with the Miami-based Related Group to build the Ritz Carlton Residences in West Palm Beach. "I think the rush is going to start now because the unknown is something people don't like." Realtors who deal in high-end properties said their phones are also ringing with people surprised about the result of the primary election and interested in potentially buying in Florida. "Local politics matter, almost more than national politics, and if local is going to a more socialist form of government, you could lose some of your really wealthy taxpayers," said Nathan Zeder, co-founder of the Jills Zeder Group in Miami. "The calls and texts, the response yesterday, was way more than what I anticipated." Celebrity real estate agent Ryan Serhant, who has a Netflix show called "Owning Manhattan", told the New York Post that his "number one job will be moving people from New York to Florida. Again." 'Based on the results, clients are going to hold off on making any kind of investment in New York City," Serhant said in the New York Post story. Serhant specializes in New York real estate but has recently made a push into Palm Beach County with $100-plus million sales in the town of Palm Beach and offices in Delray Beach and Jupiter. He was previously on Bravo TV's "Million Dollar Listing New York." Florida got a boost in New York transplants during COVID-19. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 254,097 New York state residents moved to the Sunshine State between 2021 and 2023. The number of people who traded in their New York driver's licenses in 2022 for ones with a Palm Beach County address totaled 8,059, which was a 38% increase from the average over the previous six years. "Today is a great day for the state and we welcome businesses who want to grow jobs and families who want to live in safe communities!" Florida U.S. Sen Rick Scott wrote in a June 25 social media comment. Scott linked to a post from the National Republican Congressional Committee that called Mamdani an "antisemitic socialist radical." Mamdani has declined to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada," which is widely considered by the Jewish community as a call to violence. He has also referred to Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks as a genocide. Mamdani has also said he would have Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if the prime minister of Israel came to New York. Other Palm Beach County Realtors said they have not fielded calls yet from New Yorkers antsy about what Mamdani's agenda may bring, but they don't doubt they will come. "We had the pandemic, then we had the Trump bump and this is another reason why folks may want to move here," said Elizabeth DeWoody, founding principal of real estate firm Compass Palm Beach. "We are an incredible, pro-business, forward-thinking community." The nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission, which tracks New York's economy and business finances, found New York City lost $3.1 billion in adjusted gross income from 19,540 New Yorkers who moved to Palm Beach County between 2018 and 2022. It lost an estimated $809.3 million from people who moved to Broward County during the same time period, and $6.1 billion from people who moved to Miami-Dade County. More: West Palm Beach feels growing pains amid wealth influx as neighborhoods navigate change "It was all New York until recently, or the Northeast," DeWoody said. "Now it's California, and I think we will see New York again. Sometimes it's just one thing after another that seals the deal for people." Billionaire John Catsimatidis, whose Red Apple Group has real estate investments in Florida, said he would close or sell his Manhattan-based chain of grocery stores if Mamdani wins November's general election, according to a New York Post story. Mamdani's competitors for the mayor's seat include current Mayor Eric Adams, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, former federal prosecutor Jim Walden and possibly Cuomo. Stay up to date on South Florida's sizzling real estate market and sign up for The Dirt weekly newsletter, delivered every Tuesday! Exclusively for Palm Beach Post subscribers. 'We can't compete with Mamdani opening city-run supermarkets for free,' Catsimatidis said in the New York Post story. In an interview with The Free Press, he said he'd spend more time in Florida. Christian Prakas, a founding partner of Ryan Serhant's real estate office in Delray Beach, said he's already been in touch with his boss about the possible increase in New-York-to-Palm-Beach-County moves. "He thinks it's going to be bad up there," Prakas said. Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@ Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: DeSantis muses about palm beach real estate after Zohran Mamdani won
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bevy of new for-rent apartments bring younger vibe to Boca Raton
Boca Raton, long a stronghold of gated communities, golf courses and retiree-friendly condos, is suddenly in the midst of a rental boom. Heavyweight developers known for luxury condo towers and high-end office buildings in places like Miami are homing in on the Palm Beach County city with big bets on higher-density living. About 7,600 apartment units are being planned or developed in Boca — which is more than four times what's been delivered to the market between 2022 and now, according to data from Yardi Matrix. Proposals for communities of hundreds of apartments — and, in one case, over 1,000 — are finding their way onto Boca business parks, next to the Tri-Rail Station, on Office Depot's former corporate campus and even part of a master plan for Boca's new City Hall. Investors are betting that the migration of people and business to Palm Beach County is still ongoing and that employees — some priced out of a housing market where values climbed 78% in the past five years, according to Miller Samuel and Douglass Elliman — will find appeal in rental communities with pools and yoga studios, an easy walk to retail and, perhaps, the office. 'We want all these amazing companies to come here, but we also want to provide the necessary housing for those companies to be able to thrive,' said David Martin, CEO of Terra, a Miami-based luxury condo developer that's now on tap to build Boca rentals in the future City Hall neighborhood. 'Workforce housing, or attainable housing, I think is a critical piece of the puzzle.' Martin's firm, in partnership with Frisbie Group, won a four-way competition this year for the rights to redevelop Boca's government complex, with a 2.5 million-square-foot proposal that includes a 150-room hotel, 250,000 square feet of office space — and 1,129 rental units. The plan, at 201 West Palmetto Park Road, bested three other pitches, including one from Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross's firm, Related Ross, which came in second with a plan that leaned more heavily on building office space. Elsewhere in Boca, Miami developer 13th Floor Investments plans to build a 340-unit apartment complex next to the Tri-Rail Station, at Yamato Road. The eight-story development will include affordable and 'workforce' housing, available to tenants of varying incomes, according to published reports. And further north, a partnership that acquired Office Depot's corporate campus in 2023 has big residential visions there too. Miami's Related Group, BH Group, and PEBB Enterprises just got approval for 500 apartments on the 29-acre site, in addition to 43,000 square feet of retail and a 37,000-square-foot Equinox fitness center. To make way for those plans, the partnership will demolish 246,000 square feet of office space (more than half of what's there), while keeping two other corporate buildings. Office Depot remains as a tenant. 'There is a real shortage and a real demand,' said Isaac Toledano, co-head of BH Group. 'Not a lot of new rentals were built in Boca at the last nine years.' 'When you see what's going on around you in West Palm Beach and in Palm Beach County,' Toledano added, citing out-of-state firms setting up Florida outposts and young employees following, 'it makes sense that a place like Boca will grow.' The great COVID migration southward has sent demand for rentals upward. The number of renter-occupied units in Boca Raton has been rising since 2019, while owner-occupied units have been decreasing since then, according to US Census data compiled by PropertyShark. In 2023, the most recent data available, there were 14,107 renter-occupied units in Boca, or 18% more than in 2019. Rents are holding steady though — a sign that development has thus far has met, but not exceeded, demand, said Ken Johnson, a housing economist and the Christie Kirkland Walker chair of real estate at the University of Mississippi (who retired from Boca's Florida Atlantic University last year). In February, Palm Beach County rents climbed a modest 2.31% from a year earlier, Johnson said. 'We need to keep building — that's' the caveat,' Johnson said. 'What we need right now to really settle the housing crisis in Palm beach County is the right number of roofs to live under. And I don't think we have enough roofs yet.'
