Foreign firms buy tens of thousands of homes across UK

The latest Land Registry Overseas Companies Ownership Data reveals that 91,136 property titles are owned by overseas companies across England and Wales.

The overwhelming majority – 88,933, or 97.6% – are located in England.

Of the total number some 39,172 are located within Greater London, meaning the capital alone accounts for 43% of the national total.

This is more than two and a half times as many titles as the South East, where 14,919 account for 16.4% of the national total.

The North West ranks third, accounting for 11.6% of all overseas-company-owned titles, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber at 6%.

Within London itself, overseas company property ownership is most heavily concentrated within the capital’s prime central markets.

The City of Westminster alone is home to 9,666 overseas-company-owned property titles, accounting for almost a quarter (24.7%) of the London total.

Kensington and Chelsea ranks second, with 4,958 titles representing a further 12.7%.

Combined, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea account for 14,624 or 37.3% of all such ownership across the capital.

But even Tower Hamlets accounts for 5.9% of London’s overseas-company-owned titles, followed by Camden at 5.3%, Wandsworth at 5%, Lambeth at 4.4%, Southwark at 3.8% and the City of London at 3.6%.

This data relates specifically to property owned through overseas-registered companies rather than individual foreign ownership.

The analysis was undertaken by the Benham and Reeves agency which says there’s a strong international flavour to the lettings market as well, with families relocating to the UK renting before they buy.

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