London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

How coronavirus has dented Gulf spending on luxury London homes

How coronavirus has dented Gulf spending on luxury London homes

Overseas buyers from the Gulf region decrease this year due to travel restrictions caused by the global pandemic

French buyers have bumped Arab homebuyers from the top of prime central London’s international buyer rankings.

Purchasers from France made up the largest group of buyers in prime central London (PCL) during the first nine months of 2020, according to global property consultancy Knight Frank.

They accounted for 11 percent of all transactions involving overseas buyers, said the firm.

Gulf buyers did not even appear in the top 10 rankings for the months of January to September, Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, confirmed to Arabian Business.



However, the property firm’s data for 2019 showed that Gulf buyers bought the most overseas PCL properties over the full year with UAE buyers (3.4 percent) and Kuwaitis (3.4 percent) prominent.

This data contrasts with January to September 2020 figures which show that just 2.8 percent of PCL buyers hailed from Saudi Arabia, and one percent from Kuwait and the UAE respectively.

“This type of buyer profile has never happened before,” said Bill.

“Given the unique circumstances and strict international travel restrictions on Gulf buyers, while the demand from that region is high, the actual transactions are lower as they can’t view the properties,” he said.


Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank
European property rush


According to Bill, despite the background noise of Brexit, there is ‘smart money’ in Europe targeting London.

He said: “The combination of a weak pound, a looming stamp duty hike and less competition from buyers who need to catch a long-haul flight has created a buying opportunity.”

Analysis of Knight Frank’s purchaser data highlights that Chinese buyers have dominated in recent years and accounted for 15 percent of overseas transactions in PCL between January and September 2019, while over the same period, French buyers represented just two percent.



UK buyers represent a larger proportion of overall sales in PCL in 2020, which are down by around a third in the first nine months of this year. They accounted for 59 percent of deals over the period compared to 47 percent last year.

Gulf travel ban barrier


Bill said that PCL properties would see more transactional activity from Gulf buyers once travel restrictions were lifted.

“The demand is there but there is a logistical barrier,” he said. “I don’t see this pattern being replicated next year; it’s only these unique circumstances that seen that profile change. I’d expect business as usual when travel returns as normal,” he said.

Hassan Basma, associate director, Middle East Desk at the London office for property firm Savills, said that virtual viewings could be used to stimulate transactional deal from Gulf buyers.

“I sold my first property to a Bahrain buyer this morning over Facetime. The place was worth $3.5 million,” he said.



Basma said while Gulf buyers traditionally prefer to buy properties face-to-face, the lure of the currency discount could nudge more investors to view PCL stock through virtual means.

“It’s definitely a logistical barrier. I predict more activity from Gulf buyers from now until the end of the year. There will likely be an increase in virtual tours 
as Gulf buyers look to buy property before the international stamp duty into place comes early next year.”

Ultra luxury homes selling well


The streets of London’s most exclusive postcodes may have been much quieter than normal this year but their housing markets have been surprisingly active as buyers look to take advantage of the value in the market.


Transactions of homes with a £5m-plus price tag were 12 percent higher in the first three quarters of 2020 than in the same period in 2019, as this market segment recorded its strongest third quarter for five years.

“The international travel restrictions have meant less competition and more opportunity for those on the ground this summer,” said Frances Clacy, Savills research analyst.

“But the strength of the market this year to date perhaps indicates that activity is beginning to be brought forward to beat the stamp duty surcharge for non-resident buyers which is due to come into effect on April 1, 2021.

Savills anticipates that prime central London price growth for the 2020-2024 forecast period will total 17.5 percent.



Five things we learned:


1. Purchasers from France made up the largest group of buyers in prime central London (PCL) during the first nine months of 2020

2. Gulf buyers did not appear in the top ten rankings for UK PCL properties January to September 2020

3. Increased Gulf interest in PCL investment is yet to materialise into transactions

4. PCL properties will see more transactional activity from Gulf buyers once travel restrictions are lifted

5. Savills anticipates that PCL price growth for the 2020-2024 forecast period will total 17.5 percent

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×