Prime London properties lure investors

Chinese institutional investors are snapping up London real estate as their global business expansion quickens and the British property market recovers.

China Construction Bank, selected as the first Chinese bank to provide renminbi clearing services in the UK capital, has bought a central London office building off-market for about 110 million pounds ($185 million), according to Knight Frank, a leading London estate agent and global property consultancy.

The building, 111 Old Broad Street, is a seven-story freehold property with a total area of 122,880 square feet. Belgian bank KBC was the seller.