As of January 2018, a search of Land Registry data on overseas property ownership by the BBC found that around 97,000 properties were held by companies based offshore.
The analysis provides a new picture of property ownership in England and Wales by overseas companies following a decision in April 2017 to make the database public and free to access, the British broadcaster reported.
A quarter of the properties (23,000) were owned by firms registered in the BVI, closely followed by Jersey, then Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
Other notable centres are Hong Kong, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Singapore, Panama and Ireland.
The data adds to concerns that companies registered in British-controlled offshore finance centres have been used to avoid paying tax, the BBC reports.
BVI response
When contacted by the British broadcaster, the government of the BVI said there were many practical reasons why UK properties may be owned by companies incorporated in the BVI.
It said that BVI companies can bring together multiple investors and owners, which is useful for big commercial property deals that have investors in more than one country.
The government added that it shares “necessary information”, including ownership details, with relevant authorities.
London centric
Unsurprisingly, London is home to the highest collective value of property with £33.9bn ($46.9bn, €38.2bn) worth of property owned by overseas companies.
It should be noted, however, that fewer than a third of properties included in the data provided a sale price, meaning the likelihood is that the value of property in London held by offshore firms is in excess of £100bn.
The south-east came second, with a more moderate £7.2bn.
In a recent interview, London mayor Sadiq Khan pledged to give Londoners “first dibs” on new homes built in the capital in a bid to stop property being snapped up by foreign investors.
Homes worth up to £350,000 will be offered to Londoners for the first month they are on the market. The market will be opened to the rest of the UK the following month, with overseas buyers only able to make bids after a property has been on the market for three months.
