The amount of English and Welsh properties owned by overseas companies has almost doubled in a decade, according to Search Acumen.
The legal technology firm found this had risen 92% over the period, from 47,787 properties in 2015 to 91,791 in 2025.
The value of property under oversea ownership has jumped from £15.9 billion in 2015 to £125 billion today.
Jersey has overtaken the British Virgin Islands as the top country to hold UK wealth through overseas companies, holding £57 billion worth of UK property assets.
Jersey’s stake is 25% of all English and Welsh properties registered under overseas company ownership, followed by the British Virgin Islands at 21%, Guernsey at 13%, and the Isle of Man at 11%.
According to Search Acumen, 2017 saw one of the largest annual increases in titles registered by overseas companies at 6,955 properties. The year 2018 saw the highest value of new properties registered totalling £16.2 billion.
Search Acumen looked at the rolling register of current properties under ownership by non-UK companies or corporate bodies that own land in England and Wales, as well as a real-time comparative analysis from 2022 against 2025.
In both cases, there is an overall decline in title volumes being registered. Search Acumen found that 2024 saw 3,171 properties registered, 210 less than the year before and 2,902 less than in 2019.
Brexit, new taxes and rules for overseas investment are likely behind the decline in overseas property ownership since 2022, Search Acumen said.
Likewise, since August 2022 overseas investors are less anonymous than they were. This is due to the Register of Overseas Entities requiring foreign firms owning UK homes to say who their owners were.
While the rate of new properties being purchased by overseas companies added to the register is in decline, the overall value of these assets is firmly on the up.
The year with the highest increase in new properties by value was 2021, with £16 billion worth of new assets.
Search Acumen managing director Andrew Lloyd said: “The size of property wealth currently under ownership by overseas companies is eyewatering, doubling in a decade. Whilst there are some gaps and inconsistencies in the data from its source through government records, it is widely indicative of wider investor trends and system that can and does protect the world’s most wealthy.
“However, it is telling that the number of properties purchased by overseas-based companies are falling, currently at a ten-year low. This tells us two things; that either investors and the wealthy are buying assets and storing capital outside the UK, which is a troubling sign that our global appeal may be in decline, or that our property transaction system is becoming more stringent, noting increased transparency measures and anti-money laundering regulation in recent years deterring illicit purchases.
“The likely answer is a bit of both.”
Several building societies have bolstered their expat buy-to-let ranges in recent weeks, including the Vernon, Saffron and Buckinghamshire.