Chinese funds welcome in UK property

Since the crash of the Chinese stock market, which has seen share prices tumble 20 percent since mid-June, Chinese investors have begun to refocus their attention on blue-chip tangible assets, a well-known reflex in the face of global uncertainty and volatile equity markets. This has encouraged a flight of capital toward safe haven property markets, which has been widely reported worldwide.

In Europe, Central London has been the main beneficiary due to its perceived political and economic stability and the strength of its legal system. It remains one of the most globally robust asset classes and, with more instability on the economic landscape together with plummeting oil prices, it remains the ultimate safe haven. This places it far apart from the rest of Europe, which is still suffering from the aftereffects of the credit crunch and the continuing Greek debt crisis.

Prime Central London, or PCL, also stands apart from the rest of the United Kingdom, where average prices stand no higher than pre-credit crunch levels and which is still affected by UK domestic issues such as employment, earnings and mortgage availability.