How much UK property is owned by overseas companies? Let’s break down a recent study about overseas companies owning properties in the UK:
- The Numbers:
- Properties worth £39.8 billion in England and Wales are owned by companies outside the UK. These companies don’t pay the usual UK taxes because they’re based in tax havens.
- For example, companies in the British Virgin Islands own a massive chunk of this, worth £13.23 billion.
- Top Places Where These Companies Are Based:
- British Virgin Islands: They might own the priciest properties, but in terms of the number of properties, Jersey is the champion with 21,602 properties. The British Virgin Islands follows with 20,777 properties.
- Other major tax havens in the list include Guernsey, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
- Who’s Buying More?:
- Companies from the Cayman Islands have increased their UK property holdings the most in the last year (up by 4.8%).
- Ireland and France also saw increases in property ownership in the UK.
- Who’s Buying Less?:
- On the flip side, companies in Bermuda decreased their property ownership the most (down by 19.5%).
- Big drops were also seen from Luxembourg and Malta.
- Comments from Experts:
- James Forrester, from Stripe Property Group, who published the study, mentioned that not enough homes are being built in the UK. This means many local folks find it hard to own a home, especially with rising house prices. “The government has failed in its remit of building enough homes to address the housing crisis and as a result, many potential buyers have seen their aspirations of homeownership pushed far out of reach due to record rates of house price growth in recent years. So they can be forgiven for feeling a tad aggrieved at the fact that there is a substantial level of homes owned by offshore companies located in tax havens.”
- People might be frustrated to learn that many homes are owned by overseas companies, especially when these companies aren’t paying local taxes.
- While it’s not illegal for these companies to own properties, James thinks the UK government should prioritize its own citizens more. He also suggests that if overseas companies own UK properties, they should contribute more in taxes.
In Simple Terms: A big chunk of properties in England and Wales are owned by foreign companies based in places where they pay little to no tax. This has raised some eyebrows, especially when locals find it harder and pricier to buy homes in the UK. The debate is whether these overseas companies should be paying more in taxes, especially when they own such valuable properties.