London’s super-rich are spending more on everything from botox to nights at The Ivy and pheasant shooting than at any point in the past three years

London’s super-rich are spending more on everything from botox to nights at The Ivy and pheasant shooting than at any point in the past three years, according to a luxury inflation index by multi-family office Stonehage, as the wealthy grow increasingly confident about prosperous times ahead.


The cost of luxury living in the capital has increased 6% in the 12 months leading to April on the back of growing demand, according to Stonehage’s Affluence Luxury Living Index, which tracks a basket of around 50 goods and services regularly purchased by the ultra rich, or those with a net wealth of more than $50m.

Ronnie Armist, executive director at Stonehage, said: “The large rise of [the index] shows that confidence about prosperous times is growing triggering a return to spending. Prices in London are also likely to have been impacted by a larger than normal influx of foreigners to the city.”

The biggest rise in prices was in the consumables category which includes foods such as Beluga caviar and foie gras as well as dining at high-end restaurants such as The Ivy, Covent Garden’s celebrity-packed restaurant.

The consumables index rose 18% driven by a surge in wine prices of 27.6% compared with the previous year. Champagne showed a more modest increase of 8%.

The index further showed that ultra high net worth individuals spent more money on going to the theatre and on membership at exclusive clubs, such as Soho House, with the culture and entertainment category up 10.3%.

One of the main drivers of this increase was the recovery in the art market, which Stonehage measured using the Artprice Global Index. The index, which tracks 27 million auction prices and indices going back as far as 1987 as well as 405,000 artists, increased 10.5% over this period.

High rental prices in London’s Kensington and Chelsea borough pushed up inflation 5.7% in the housing and family category, which includes private education at the prestigious Westminster School, botox treatments and a full-time housekeeper from Sloane Square's domestic staff provider Beauchamp Bureau.

According to the index, London’s super-rich spent more on investments of passion such as Patek Phillipe watches and Burberry trench coats with prices in this category increasing by an average of 4.7% over the past year.

Activities such as grouse and pheasant shooting as well as membership at exclusive polo and tennis clubs, which were badly hit by the downturn, also experienced a rebound in prices, with a rise of 5.4% in the sports and recreation category.

Meanwhile a return to private jet hire and an increase in first-class airline ticket purchases drove up prices in the travel category by 3.1%.

The 6% rise in the index is equal to 2007 but significantly higher than last year's 0.6% increase.

The Consumer Price Index had an average inflation rate of 4.5% over the same period, which according to Stonehage signals the greater volatility of luxury goods prices which tend to shoot up in good times and slump more significantly during downturns.