Chinese investors will reconsider buying in London if increasingly anti-foreign rhetoric continues.
That was the message from several large investors at an inaugural conference in Shanghai last month to market UK real estate to Chinese players.
Clement Lau, head of development and valuations at Hongkong Land, which owns and manages 8.6m sq ft of commercial property in key Asian cities, said: “If this sentiment rises to a more alarming scale, we Asian investors would start thinking ‘is London still the right destination for my money?’ There is a concern here about the British saying there may be too many foreign investors coming into London.”
Alistair Meadows, head of international capital for Asia Pacific at JLL, added: “The UK is competing for global capital alongside the US and Australia. And without the key message that we are open for business and we welcome Chinese investment, there’s a risk capital will go elsewhere.”
At MIPIM in March, mayor of London Boris Johnson issued a concordat – signed by more than 50 housebuilders – that homes in the capital should be marketed to Londoners first.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes has also argued that foreign investors should pay extra property taxes or ministers should limit the number of sales each year to ?foreign buyers.
Greater London Authority deputy mayor for policy and planning Sir Edward Lister said: “There is a real danger we could scare off crucial foreign investment. We have only ever seen up to 3% of sales going to overseas buyers.
“Without their investment, we won’t be able to build some of these schemes at all, so then we lose all the benefits including affordable housing.”
Other issues around investment into the UK raised at the Shanghai conference, part of the RICS Future Cities Summit, included convoluted planning processes, expensive London hotels and a lack of understanding of Chinese culture in the UK.
emily.wright@estatesgazette.com
