A growing number of international buyers are snapping up UK properties that are located outside of London, according to analysis by The Financial Times.
 
The report finds that for more than 30 years, the vast majority of overseas money has been channelled into the capital, with buyers lured by a generally thriving economy and rapidly rising house prices.
 
But this pattern has begun to shift for many non-UK prospective buyers, with Asian and Middle Eastern nationalities the largest cohort seeking out regional opportunities.
 
Hong Kong residents are a notable example, buying more houses and apartments to lease out for income in Britain, but outside London, than ever before, according to property agents. It’s a trend they say that coincides with what many expect to be a wave of emigration after China passed a national security law last year.
 
“It’s become much more of a trend in the past six months or so,” Guy Bradshaw, head of Residential at Sotheby’s International Realty told Reuters. “I’ve certainly been involved in a lot more conversations and Zoom calls with people in Hong Kong and funds in Hong Kong.”
 
The Saudi conglomerate AIMS Holdings is another case in point. The family-owned group assessed the UK market and it concluded decisively that the cities including Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds offered better prospects for their cash.

Abdulaziz Albassam, chief executive of AIMS Investments, its wealth management division, said: “When we first wanted to invest in the UK we looked at London. Then we saw there were much more opportunities elsewhere. It was a real eye opener.”

It seems their judgement was spot on.
 
The publication’s study comes as it is revealed that the average house price in England increased by 8.9% over the year to April 2021. However, in the capital the increase was only 3.3%, taking the average property value to £491,687, against 16.9% in the North East. In Scotland, the average house price climbed 6.3% during the year to April.
 
The UK House Price Index is based on completed housing transactions. Typically, a house purchase can take 6 to 8 weeks to reach completion. The price data feeding into these recent figures mainly reflect those agreements that occurred after the government measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 took hold.