The number of properties in England and Wales owned by overseas companies has almost doubled in the past decade to 91,791.
Analysis by tech firm Search Acumen also highlights that the value of property under oversea ownership has jumped from £15.9 billion in 2015, to £125 billion today.
2017 saw one of the largest annual increases in titles registered by overseas companies at 6,955 properties, whilst 2018 saw the highest value of new properties registered totalling £16.2 billion.
Jersey is the top country on the register with the highest volume and value of properties currently registered under overseas company ownership, holding £57 billion worth of assets. This equates to a significant 25% of all properties registered under overseas company ownership, followed by the British Virgin Islands at 21%, Guernsey at 13%, and the Isle of Man at 11%.
Search Acumen looked at the rolling register of current properties under ownership by non-UK companies or corporate bodies that own land in England and Wales, as well as a real-time comparative analysis from 2022 against 2025.
In both cases, there is an overall decline in title volumes being registered. In the accumulative statistics, 2024 saw 3,171 properties registered: 210 less than the year before and 2,902 less than five years previous (2019). In the non-accumulative comparison, the difference is more acute, with 3,834 fewer titles than three years previous.
Whilst the rate of new properties being purchased by overseas companies added to the register is in decline, the overall value of these assets is firmly on the up. 2021 saw the highest increase in new properties by value with £16bn worth of new assets that year alone. Overall, values have risen 44% since 2022, equivalent to £38.5 billion.
Andrew Lloyd, director at Search Acumen, comments: “The size of property wealth currently under ownership by overseas companies is eye watering, doubling in a decade. Whilst there are some gaps and inconsistencies in the data from its source through government records, it is widely indicative of wider investor trends and system that can and does protect the world’s most wealthy.
“However, it is telling that the number of properties purchased by overseas-based companies are falling, currently at a ten-year low. This tells us two things; that either investors and the wealthy are buying assets and storing capital outside the UK, which is a troubling sign that our global appeal may be in decline, or that our property transaction system is becoming more stringent, noting increased transparency measures and anti-money laundering regulation in recent years deterring illicit purchases.
“The likely answer is a bit of both. We know that the UK’s exit from the EU had huge economic consequences, including on the property industry. New taxes and rules for overseas investment has played a critical role in the decline since 2022, seen as a less attractive place post-Bexit, whilst in turn opening up opportunities for more domestic businesses.
“We also saw in August 2022 the Register of Overseas Entities newly require overseas entities owning UK property to declare who their beneficial owners are, which included non-UK companies. This move indicated to the wider market a tighter grip on compliance by the government. Whilst reducing anonymity has to be a good thing, it may have in turn deterred some investors. This, combined with rising interest rates, higher borrowing costs, falling yields and slow capital growth, has likely made speculative investment less rewarding.”
| Year added to register | Total of properties – cumulative | Total sum of Price Paid for all properties – cumulative | Annual change in volume | Annual change in value |
| 2015 | 47,787 | £15,944,521,911 | ||
| 2016 | 54,063 | £23,288,861,939 | 13% | 46% |
| 2017 | 61,018 | £35,034,528,501 | 13% | 50% |
| 2018 | 66,875 | £51,310,042,986 | 10% | 46% |
| 2019 | 72,948 | £65,702,278,064 | 9% | 28% |
| 2020 | 76,390 | £77,065,994,446 | 5% | 17% |
| 2021 | 80,784 | £93,320,134,235 | 6% | 21% |
| 2022 | 84,652 | £106,271,133,782 | 5% | 14% |
| 2023 | 88,033 | £118,129,397,011 | 4% | 11% |
| 2024 | 91,204 | £123,952,524,539 | 4% | 5% |
| 2025 | 91,791 | £125,261,464,197 | 1% | 1% |
Source: Search Acumen analysis of HM Land Registry data.
| Year added to register | Number of Properties added that year | Sum of Price Paid for all properties that year |
| 2015 | 5,169 | £7,317,493,924 |
| 2016 | 6,276 | £7,344,340,028 |
| 2017 | 6,955 | £11,745,666,562 |
| 2018 | 5,857 | £16,275,514,485 |
| 2019 | 6,073 | £14,392,235,078 |
| 2020 | 3,442 | £11,363,716,382 |
| 2021 | 4,394 | £16,254,139,789 |
| 2022 | 3,868 | £12,950,999,547 |
| 2023 | 3,381 | £11,858,263,229 |
| 2024 | 3,171 | £5,823,127,528 |
| 2025 | 587 | £1,308,939,658 |
Source: Search Acumen analysis of HM Land Registry data.
| Top 10 | Country | Number of properties | Sum of Price Paid for all properties | % of market |
| 1 | JERSEY | 23,290 | £57,020,353,214 | 25% |
| 2 | BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS | 19,475 | £20,554,446,189 | 21% |
| 3 | GUERNSEY | 12,308 | £9,473,195,947 | 13% |
| 4 | ISLE OF MAN | 10,090 | £7,368,176,692 | 11% |
| 5 | SINGAPORE | 2,114 | £1,281,393,054 | 2% |
| 6 | GIBRALTAR | 1,903 | £1,230,199,909 | 2% |
| 7 | LUXEMBOURG | 1,900 | £13,216,290,793 | 2% |
| 8 | HONG KONG | 1,672 | £986,014,241 | 2% |
| 9 | CAYMAN ISLANDS | 1,441 | £1,581,913,640 | 2% |
| 10 | IRELAND | 1,389 | £373,007,886 | 2% |
Source: Search Acumen analysis of HM Land Registry data.
