Research carried out by experts at Cambridge University, on behalf of the investment group Development Securities, found that 52 per cent of office space in the City of London was under foreign ownership in late 2011.
The latest report on the subject revealed that the proportion of City offices owned by overseas investors has been increasing steadily since the 1980s and, perhaps a little surprisingly, since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008.
Indeed, researchers concluded that the market for office space in London’s financial capital has shown “remarkable resilience” since the recent economic downturn began, with the crisis failing to induce capital flight, at least in real estate investment.
“London’s attractiveness to foreign investors has clearly been undeterred by the widespread economic turmoil,” said Michael Marx, Development Securities’ chief executive. “City offices are perceived to offer quality and transparency – a ‘safe-haven’ for foreign buyers who have, in turn, deepened liquidity in the market.”
Despite the apparent positivity of data confirming London as a popular place to invest, authors of the recent study were keen to stress that the strength of the City’s office space market is very closely linked to its position as one of the world’s leading centres for the financial services industry.
Marx said: “It is clear that the viability of City offices continues to depend on the strength of London’s financial services sector. The challenge for policymakers will be to ensure that the financial services sector, the very lifeblood of the City, can continue to flourish.”
Earlier this month, the insurance giant Aon signed up to take 10 floors of office space at the Leadenhall Building, an under-construction City of London skyscraper due for completion in mid-2014.
Editor’s notes: Since the publication of this article, foreign entities have continued to invest in commercial property in the City of London as well as across the whole of London.
In Property Week’s 2017 article, Who owns London?, the owners of the UK capital’s commercial real estate are ranked by square footage owned.
In it, it can be seen that Canary Wharf Group Investment Holdings owned the most commercial property in London with 21,452,796 square feet.
The government of the United Kingdom was the 13th-largest owner, with 4,453,182 square feet; the government of Kuwait was 16th, with 3,646,359 square feet; and the government of Qatar was 51st, with 1,800,903 square feet.
It should be noted that these numbers refer to property ownership across London as a whole.
In the City of London, the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London were the largest owners, with 17,447,701 square feet.
However, overseas investors have purchased prominent skyscrapers in the City of London over the last decade, such as Tower 42, which was purchased by South African businessman Nathan ‘Natie’ Kirsh in 2011, and 20 Fenchurch Street, also known as The Walkie Talkie, which was purchased by Hong Kong food company, Lee Kum Kee Groups in 2017.
In 2022, entities from South Korea and Singapore were the most active purchasers, accounting for 18 per cent and 16 per cent of total City office investments, respectively.
In total, overseas purchasers invested £5.8 billion in office space in the City, which was 87 per cent of the annual total.
It was also noted that there was strong growth in activity by investors from the Asia Pacific region in the City, accounting for £4.0 billion in acquisitions (60 per cent of the total), up from £1.2 billion in 2021 (18 per cent of the total).
In a later article published in July 2025, in partnership with the property intelligence platform Nimbus, Property Week reported that Transport for London (TfL), through its commercial entity Places for London (PfL), was the largest landowner in London by building footprint.
The report indicated that TfL was one of London’s largest landowners, with over 5,500 acres of land across the capital, and PfL’s assets included residential and commercial properties, over 1,000 retail units, 850 railway arches, and numerous development sites.
In May 2026, Property Week published an article following the publication of a report by Real Estate:UK, which stated overseas investment in UK commercial property was down 40 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
The report found that total UK investment reached £9.7 billion in Q1 2026, which was almost 40 per cent below the five-year first-quarter average.
Overseas capital accounted for £3.6 billion of activity, with inflows from the United States moderating significantly following a record 2025.
It stated that the reasons for the sharp decline were that global investors had grown more cautious amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty, the US dollar was weaker, and there were ongoing concerns around development viability.
Further analysis of the quarter found that offices attracted £2.9 billion in investment and accounted for approximately 30 per cent of total volumes. The majority of these being in London.
The soft opening to 2026 contrasted with a strong 2025, when overseas investment rose 33 per cent year-on-year to £27.2 billion. 2025 was the fourth strongest year on record, with overseas ownership accounting for a record 56 per cent share of total UK commercial property investment.
In 2025, the US was the dominant source of overseas capital, with £18.2 billion of investment during the year.