Eastern promise

I am delighted to share the details of our latest office opening, this time in Shanghai. Recently, we took the move to expand our China presence by opening a new Shanghai office to keep pace with the demand for London property from Chinese investors. 

The Chinese are natural investors and have always valued property as an important part of their investment portfolio. While we have had a Hong Kong office for more than 20 years now, owing to Hong Kong’s historical ties to Britain, we are experiencing increased interest from clients in mainland China for whom access to a Shanghai-based team would be more convenient.

Shanghai itself is a thriving commercial hub that attracts business people from all over China and the world. As a consequence, it has a global outlook and as the main business district it experiences more influence from external forces than elsewhere in China and has much wider investment horizons. Clients here already have their sights on the London property market.

It is important  for Chinese clients to take advice from members of their own community and networks. If friends and family are investing in property in a region then it is Chinese culture to trust those networks more than any outside advice in business dealings. Our consistency has stood us in good stead; the Shanghai office, managed by Sunny Sun, will continue to offer an end-to-end service that Chinese investor networks have come to trust. 

It is this service that sets us apart –  the London property market is particularly complex and Chinese investors appreciate the fact that we have a wealth of landlord resources, we translate and explain every document, have information videos and make the time to talk through the processes and tax implications in Chinese. It’s a truly personal service, alongside the insight and confidence that 20 years in the market brings.

The Chinese relationship with the UK is growing too. For example in 1997, there were 5,800 Chinese students in UK, by 2016 that figure had risen to more than 160,000 students. In addition to parents who want to buy property for their children during their studies, the students themselves will have an affinity with the UK because they have studied here and perhaps want to live and work here. China is home to one billion people, if just 1% buy London property, then that would bring investment from 10 million people. It’s an astonishing market that continues to grow.

In our experience, the type of properties that these investors are most interested in are one to two-bedroom apartments. I mentioned education; 20% of our clients are buying for their children who are studying in London and 80% are buying as buy-to-let units. The Chinese domestic market by comparison has cooling measures that limit domestic property buying; as a result savvy investors have turned their attention to the London property market.

Our Shanghai office increases our footprint in Asia and being able to give specialised and localised help is invaluable to investors who look to us to help with property valuations, property management and furnishing. We are delighted with the service we are able to offer our clients from Hong Kong and Shanghai and our China desk in London. Next, we have our sights on an office in Beijing which I will be able to update you on soon.  In the meantime, please do book your place at one of our free London property seminars, taking place in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia during July where myself and my fellow Directors will be available for private consultations.