Wealthy Africans are investing in some of London’s most upscale real estate properties with some reportedly spending as much as $37 million on houses alone. These wealthy investors having a considerable impact on London’s property market and they mainly come from just six countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and Senegal.
Property experts, Mayfair, Kensington and Chelsea say African investment in London is set to grow as the industry is now welcoming a new wave of African investors. Bimpe Nkontchou, a British-Nigerian wealth manager based in London says “the Africans who are coming into London now are Africans who themselves have worked for their money and this is bringing to London the best of the continent.”
Nigerians, out of the lot, is believed to be splashing out the most cash when it comes to houses in the British capital, spending between $22 and $37 million on securing a property, according to luxury property agents Beauchamp Estates. Their research shows that over the past three years, Africans have spent over $900 million on luxury residential property in London.
Many reasons have been adduced to this latest trend ranging from the search for ‘safe haven’ to educational. Owning a home in post codes like W1 or W8 around the corner from Kensington Palace means more than having a place to just lay the head. Foreign investors see London as a “safe haven” for prime property investments with the city ranking as the second most important hub for ultra-high-net-worth homes. These buildings are investments which are expected to gain even bigger value in the coming years.
African buyers see these houses as an intelligent investment as it is in London they want to send their children to school. The Nigerian Embassy in London calculates that Nigerian nationals now spend over $446 million per year on fees, tutoring and accommodation at British schools and university.
“Education usually means putting the children on an international stage, and that’s one reason why this is feeding into the demand for property in London” says Nkontchou.
With experts expecting this trend to continue, virtually all the transactions are for end use, not rental investment, which indicates that the African buyer market in London has significant room for growth.
