Why own land?

Intelligence Gathering

Intelligence gathering is knowing what is going to happen before the rest of the world finds out and is the silent magic that creates wealth for the few that have it.
Land prices increase for four main reasons.

1. Planning Permission is granted.
2. Political events
3. Building for industry.
4. Population increases


1. Planning Permission
For example, a parcel of farmland in France which has no other value than for agriculture may cost only a few thousand Euros per hectar. A parcel of land in the Paris area which has planning permission to build residential housing would be worth millions of Euros.

2. Political Events
A good example of this is when some of the former East European Communist countries such as Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary and others joined the European Union. When they did, land prices rose and continue to do so. Dramatically. (see chart).

3. Building for Industry
When a multinational company, be it from the United States, Japan, China or elsewhere decides to build a factory, land prices increase immediately because a manufacturing plant requires more than just a factory. It also requires housing for the employees, schools, shops, recreational facilities etc, perhaps even a local airport. Consequently land is in demand and prices rise quickly.

4. Population increases
Population increases every minute of the day but there is only one planet earth. (See link) The more of us there are, the less space each of us has. Therefore the demand for good space, convenient space and strategic space increases continually, - be it industrial, commercial, recreational or residential housing and when demand increases prices go up.

Intelligence gathering.

Our job at Land Assets, is to know what is going to happen before it happens and then act. Land Assets has a vast network of contacts and employs many people around the world to do this, each with a dedicated field of operation, in strategic countries which are of interest to our business. The people we employ are from diversified backgrounds, all of them in key positions to give us the information we need to make sure we and our clients are in the right place at the right time.

At Land Assets we attach such importance to intelligence gathering that we have a dedicated division which does only that, and receives 28% of our operating budget. Our Intelligence Division has four departments, the Planning Desk, the Political Desk, the Industrial and Commercial Desk and the Demographics Desk each focused on their particular field of expertise.

Whenever we receive intelligence,- and it may be from the other side of the planet, we seek verification at the local level. For example a Japanese multinational may be planning to build a manufacturing plant in one of the emerging economies of Eastern Europe where labour is cheap. Owning a strategically located piece of land in the area will reap big profits, but before we act our local team get the local intelligence and feed it back to Headquarters in Hong Kong where the final decision is made.

Intelligence gathering is knowing what is going to happen before the rest of the world finds out and is the silent magic that creates wealth for the few that have it.

Some of our intelligence is re-classified as research and is available to our clients upon request.

Should you have a particular area of interest
please call Mr. Magnus Harding on + 852 358 93051

“Every battle is won or lost before it is fought.”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War