Wealthy parents from outside the UK bought about £2bn of property in London over the past year in order to get their children into private schools and universities in the capital, according to a high-end estate agent.
Knight Frank said foreign buyers snapped up 2,162 properties valued at a combined £2bn in the year to the end of May, up from £1.65bn in the previous year.
Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s head of research, said the properties – which had an average value of £925,000 – were bought to be used as a base while the owners’ children were at schools such as Eton, Westminster and Harrow, or universities in or near the capital.
