Chinese snapping up London's luxury real estate

As the UK’s authorities have cracked down on Russian oligarchs and their property empires in London, Chinese buyers have been filling the void. "Russian money is pretty much yesterday," says Beauchamp Estates' Paul Finch. The number of new Russian buyers has tumbled over the past four or five years, with scrutiny having increased gradually after the Skripal poisonings and then massively after the invasion of Ukraine. "The Chinese have definitely taken up the slack. They have been quite prolific, especially the Hong Kong Chinese, in buying up properties in London," he adds. "They want trophies. And with that you get all the bells and whistles - the amenities and the facilities." In 2021, all of the city's top five super-prime property deals - or those worth £20m or more - involved Chinese billionaires, according to research by Beauchamp. That was ahead of Russians, Americans, Britons and Africans, who made up the rest of the list. As ever, one of London's big draws is its private schools and cultural offering.

The Sunday Telegraph