The volume of property in England and Wales owned by overseas companies has almost doubled over the past decade, with the total value of those assets now exceeding £125 billion, according to new analysis.
Data from legaltech provider Search Acumen shows that the number of properties registered under overseas company ownership has risen by 92 per cent in 10 years, from 47,787 in 2015 to 91,791 in 2025. Over the same period, the total value of those assets has surged from £15.9 billion to £125 billion.
While the overall stock of overseas-owned property has grown sharply, the rate of new acquisitions has slowed in recent years. Search Acumen’s analysis indicates that there are 3,834 fewer properties held by overseas companies in 2025 compared with 2022, suggesting a decline in new purchases despite rising asset values.
The value of property held by overseas companies is now at an all-time high, having jumped by around 40 per cent in just three years — equivalent to an increase of £38.5 billion since 2022. The data suggests that while fewer properties are being bought, those that are held are increasingly high-value assets.
According to the analysis, 2017 recorded one of the largest annual increases in overseas-owned property by volume, with 6,955 new titles registered. In contrast, 2018 marked the peak year by value, with £16.2 billion worth of new overseas-owned property added to the register.
Jersey has now overtaken the British Virgin Islands as the leading jurisdiction for holding UK property wealth through overseas companies. Entities registered in Jersey currently hold £57 billion worth of property assets in England and Wales, accounting for around 25 per cent of all overseas company-owned property by value.
The British Virgin Islands follow with 21 per cent, while Guernsey and the Isle of Man account for 13 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.
Search Acumen examined both cumulative data over a 10-year period and a rolling comparison between 2022 and 2025, drawing on government records of non-UK companies and corporate bodies that own land in England and Wales.
The figures show a clear slowdown in new registrations. In 2024, just 3,171 properties were registered under overseas company ownership — 210 fewer than the previous year and 2,902 fewer than in 2019. In non-cumulative terms, the decline is more pronounced, with nearly 4,000 fewer titles than three years earlier.
Despite this, the value of overseas-owned property continues to rise. The strongest annual increase by value was recorded in 2021, when £16 billion worth of new assets were added in a single year. Since 2022 alone, overall values have risen by 44 per cent.
Andrew Lloyd, director at Search Acumen, said the figures highlight both the scale of overseas-held property wealth in the UK and the shifting dynamics of international investment.
“The size of property wealth currently under ownership by overseas companies is eye-watering, doubling in a decade,” he said. “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 a system that can and does protect the world’s most wealthy.”
He added that the decline in the number of properties being purchased by overseas companies points to deeper structural changes.
“It is telling that the number of properties purchased by overseas-based companies is falling, currently at a ten-year low,” Lloyd said. “This tells us two things: either investors are choosing to store capital outside the UK, which could indicate our global appeal is weakening, or the UK’s property system is becoming more stringent, with increased transparency and anti-money laundering regulation deterring illicit purchases.”
Lloyd suggested the reality is likely to be a combination of both factors. He pointed to the long-term impact of Brexit, alongside higher taxes and tighter rules for overseas investors, as key contributors to the decline since 2022.
He also highlighted the introduction of the Register of Overseas Entities in August 2022, which requires overseas entities owning UK property to declare their beneficial owners.
“That move signalled a much tighter grip on compliance by the government,” he said. “While reducing anonymity is undoubtedly positive, it may also have deterred some investors. Combined with rising interest rates, higher borrowing costs, falling yields and slower capital growth, speculative property investment has become less attractive.”
The findings suggest that while overseas investors continue to hold vast amounts of UK property wealth, the era of rapid expansion in overseas-owned property volumes may be drawing to a close — even as the value of those holdings continues to climb.
