A weak pound sterling is making London a prime target for GCC real estate investment.
And there are many banks in the city ready to help GCC citizens.GCC) countries seize the opportunity.
While GCC nationals make up a healthy share of foreign property owners in London, the decline in Russian investors this year, combined with the relative strength of the Gulf currency against the dollar, has boosted demand from GCC buyers.
And banks specializing in connecting the region to the UK market are seizing the opportunity as they play a key role in enabling transactions for GCC investors looking to increase their exposure to London real estate.
Just last week (December 15), Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME) has announced the opening of a new office in Mayfair to serve GCC nationals interested in acquiring properties in the UK.
As anyone who has played British Monopoly knows, Mayfair is one of the most expensive boroughs of London and one of the most exclusive parts of the city, and indeed the world, with individual houses priced at £100 million ($121.77 million).
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As Mayfair-based estate agent Wetherell reported Last year, London’s £100 million “giga-prime” housing market was dominated by buyers from just seven countries: Qatar, India, the UK, the US, China, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. But in general, Qatari nationals have been more buyers, especially in recent years.
In the year In 2016, it was reported that nearly a quarter of the 279 hectares of land and more than 4,300 housing units, the term “Little Doha” is used to describe the area northwest of Mayfair, are dominated by Qatari-owned properties. The Althani family and their associates.
In addition to BLME, other GCC banks that have set up shop in the wealthy district to help GCC billionaires invest in London’s prime real estate include Qatar National Bank (QNB) – with its London headquarters on Grosvenor Street in Mayfair – Arab National Bank (ANB), Riyadh Bank and Saudi British Bank (SABB).
From private investors to sovereign wealth funds
On top of London’s property pyramid, GCC investors are moving to snap up real estate in lower price ranges.
In October, an international real estate agent Chestertons reported The city has seen a 10% increase in demand from Middle Eastern buyers looking to buy, with properties priced below £1 million ($1.22 million) being the most sought after.
This comes as little surprise as the pound has recovered somewhat since coming close to hitting parity with the dollar in late September, with the exchange rate still favorable to dollar-denominated currencies.
In parallel with commercial real estate investment, a weakened sterling that is driving GCC-based individuals to buy homes will lead to increased investment from the region’s sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). These SWFs are among the biggest financiers behind London’s development projects, which include some of the city’s most iconic buildings.
London’s tallest building, the Shard, for example, was originally financed by a consortium of private Qatari investors, including QNB, and is now 95% owned by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
QIA has a 20% stake in London Heathrow Airport and owns the Canary Wharf Group alongside US company Brookfield Properties. The company is one of Europe’s largest property developers and owns several billion pounds worth of London real estate.
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