Case No. BV20D0029

53.I finally turn to the appropriate award which is based principally on an assessment of W’s needs, although I emphasise that I have considered all the material before me in the round. I have had in mind in particular the length of the relationship, the primacy of the children’s needs, the available resources, the standard of living and the origins of the wealth. I also factor in the Post-Marital Agreement in circumstances where, although W did not sign it, agreement was reached and there is nothing to suggest she was discontented with the terms at the time. 54.W seeks an appropriate central London property with 4 bedrooms and of an appropriate size. She puts forward two examples in SW3; ‘A’ Street (2,213 sq ft) at £4m and ‘B’ Street (2,322 sq ft) at £4.5m, although neither, as she told me, are perfectly configured. H, by contrast, suggests SW6/SW10, putting forward a number of well appointed properties ranging between 1,913 sq ft and 3,047 sq ft, all in a price bracket between £3m and £3.75m. As usual, it is the location which accounts for the main variable element. 55.I accept that ‘X’ Street (valued at about £2.175m gross) is not a realistic benchmark. It is cramped at 1,302 square feet and seems to me to be too small for family living. In fairness, H does not press for a housing fund at that level. It is, however, notable that this property, which W lived in for some years, is in X area whereas W now has her sights set on more expensive A/B area. 56.I note that in her Form E, W did not fill in her capital needs requirement. I ordered her to do so, and she put forward a London house need at £6m-£6.5m which seems to me to have always been on the ambitious side. 57.I bear in mind that H proposes to carry on living at his home in Y town which is worth about £2.9m, albeit subject to a large mortgage. 58.Given that the children are at School X and School Y, each round trip to the schools from SW3 would be about 1 ½ hours, compared to a much shorter trip from H’s proposed areas of G area or F area. 59.Essentially, what W seeks is a familiar trade-off in terms of location and space. She does not want to start all over again, and move to SW6 where she would have to re-settle herself and the family. She told me that she prefers the location of SW3, as do the children, although I am confident that the children would adapt well to any reasonable area in a nice house with the love and support of their mother.60.On balance, having listened very carefully to W, and having considered the various property particulars, I have reached the conclusion that G area/F area are appropriate areas. In my judgment, greater space would be of benefit to the children, and these are comfortable areas near to the schools. I conclude that an appropriate housing sum for W is £3.5m. To that should be added stamp duty which I calculate at £333,750. W needs funds to complete the purchase, move and renovate a new property. I will therefore round up this sum to