UK remains an “attractive destination” for wealthy overseas workers, with major rents in London rising the strongest in the year, according to Knight Frank.
According to the property broker, companies looking to send employees to the UK in the first seven months of the year are 8.5 per cent higher than those 12 months ago.
This led to an average rent in central London up 1.7% in the year to July, the strongest growth of the year. Major London leases rose 1.8%, the strongest since October.
The broker said these rising inconsistent UK figures.
UK retail sales rose 0.9% in June, while falling 2.8% in May, but did not reach a consensus boost of 1.2%.
Although the economy is expected to grow only 0.1% when the second quarter official data is released Thursday, the economy has grown 0.7% in the first three months of the year.
“Despite uncertain background, the demand for the company relocation sector in London and surrounding areas remains firm,” said Tom Bill, head of residential research at Knight Frank, UK.
He added that corporate migration often comes from the fields of energy, finance, professional services, law and technology.
In recent months, Yuan, Apple and Amazon have performed very well, while several US law firms have added operations in the UK.
John Humphris, head of relocation and company services at Knight Frank, added: “London is still seen as a primary location for dispatching employees.”
“There is already a lot of talent here to attract people, as well as language and time zone appeal.”
Additionally, Humphris noted that in the past 18 months, restrictions on non-DOM rules by former Conservative and current Labor governments have been “not particularly relevant” to the company’s relocation market.
“Healthy demand and stricter supply means we expect rental value growth to continue to climb for the rest of the year,” Bill added.
