With money in the bank and dollars to burn, it’s a good time to be an American in London. The US’s chief gripe about the UK capital used to be that the pricey pound made everything here so expensive. But last year the post-Covid pound tumbled, hitting an all-time low against the dollar in the aftermath of Liz Truss’s “mini-budget” and providing hefty discounts. America is bouncing, and it’s making itself at home.
First came a royal flush of Middle Eastern oil money, then the Russians to keep London afloat. Now, it’s American investors, once again riding in from the West. Restaurants and theatres are stuffed with American visitors, London’s real estate market is turning red, white and blue, and US investors are chasing UK businesses like they’re going out of fashion. “I feel like during the pandemic older Americans were thinking: we’ve got to travel, we have the money and we need to travel together because we have the money and who knows what could happen in the future,” says Stuart Procter, chief operating officer at The Stafford hotel in St James’s, which has enjoyed a surge in American visitors. “What are we going to do, be the richest people in the graveyard or have some fun?” In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Londongrad has bitten the dust — all hail Londonland, America’s 51st State.
