Asian buyers dominate City of London property market

More than half of all commercial property purchases in the City of London come from Asian investment, new figures reveal.

While 57 per cent of commercial properties in the Square Mile are bought by Asians, the second-highest investors by continent are the Europeans, buying 14 per cent over the same period of the most recent six quarters, according to data compiled by Datscha UK, a provider of property research intelligence.

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Lesley Males, head of research at Datscha UK, told City A.M.: “London is the financial capital of the world. I don’t think that will change with Brexit. The initial fear was there but demand has gone through the roof again.”

Males added: “Asians see the potential in London, with commercial property prices holding values.”

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The latest statistics are fresh evidence of a surge in interest from the east for London’s high-end property market, both in terms of residential and commercial buildings.

Last month trophy buildings in the Square Mile were bought up for huge sums, with Ropemaker Place and the UBS headquarters both being purchased for £650m and £1bn respectively.

Talking to City A.M. several weeks ago about the growth in south east Asian investment, commercial property expert Nick Braybrook said: “The market for trophies has been increasing for a few years now, and we have reached a point where the market is dominated by private investors, principally from Hong Kong. People are not quite aware of the dominance of south east Asian buyers, who make up about 70 per cent of the market.”