The extent of foreign ownership has shown a significant rise since the publication of our previous findings in 2006 when overseas ownership of the City’s office stock was estimated at 45%. The further increase to 52% represents the culmination of a consistently rising trend which has seen foreign ownership track 60% for the past eight years. In 1980 overseas ownership of the City’s property assets stood at a mere 8% (including owner-occupiers). Foreign ownership passed 25% in the mid 1990s and, fuelled by the growth of global real asset investment and the expansion of private real estate fund vehicles, exceeded.
