Post-Brexit: UK real estate firms are targeting Chinese investors
Post-Brexit: UK real estate firms are targeting Chinese investors
Real estate firms are coaxing Chinese customers to put their money in Britain while the sterling is weak
In efforts to maintain the strength of the UK property market, a number of British real estate companies are in China this week to promote their offerings in a post-Brexit landscape, CCTV News reports.
The British Ambassador to China, Barbara Woodward, was on hand to support her British compatriots. “We’re still seeing a good flow of investment into the UK and I think that’s because fundamentals are strong and also, post-Brexit, the pound is a little bit lower so some things are cheaper than they were before,” she told CCTV News. “I would definitely encourage investors to continue to look at the UK.”
Pang Shudong, Jones Lang LaSalle director for China Business, observed that while prices have decreased in London, demand remains strong. For example, the vacancy rate in the City of London, the capital’s main financial district, is about 3.4 percent, compared with 7 percent in the past 20 years, he noted.
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“London needs 50,000 units of properties to ensure adequate supply for its rising population. However, the market can provide only 50 to 60 percent of that,” Pang told CCTV News.
“There is an obvious shortage in its supply. That’s why demand is always strong.”
Britain’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond flew to Chengdu, China on Friday in his first official trip since his appointment. At a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Chengdu, Hammond hinted at the possibility of a trade deal with China.
“Once we are out of the European Union then I have no doubt on both sides we will want to cement that relationship into a firmer structure in a bilateral way that’s appropriate. That’s something we will have to explore in the future,” Hammond, who supported the Remain campaign, told the BBC.
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Source: Property Report