An area of London is fast becoming popular with the Chinese – and that trend is likely to accelerate.
Research by London agency Benham and Reeves has revealed that the London borough of Tower Hamlets has seen by far the largest increase in the number of homes owned by Chinese foreign nationals since 2020.
And now the UK government has approved plans for China’s controversial new London ‘mega embassy’ at Royal Mint Court in the borough.
Benham and Reeves analysed the number of homes owned by both Chinese and Hong Kong nationals across the London market, breaking the data down by borough and assessing how levels of foreign ownership have changed over the last five years.
The former Royal Mint Court site, located on the eastern edge of the City of London and just within the boundary of Tower Hamlets, was purchased by the Chinese government in May 2018 for £255 million.
The site has been approved to become China’s largest diplomatic mission in Europe, despite opposition from local residents and security concerns raised in the past.
The figures from Benham and Reeves show that across London as a whole, the number of homes owned by Chinese nationals has increased by 85% over the last five years (2020-2025), equating to 3,746 more homes, highlighting a sharp rise in buyer activity from mainland China.
Over the same period, the number of homes owned by Hong Kong nationals has increased by a more measured but still significant 23%, or 2,372 homes.
When breaking the market down by borough, it is Tower Hamlets, home to the proposed mega embassy, that has seen the most pronounced growth.
Across the borough, the number of homes owned by Chinese nationals has increased by 1,119 over the last five years, far exceeding the next largest increase of 379 homes recorded in Hammersmith and Fulham.
At the same time, the number of homes owned by Hong Kong nationals in Tower Hamlets has risen by 754 over the same period, again well ahead of the next largest increase of 204 homes seen in Westminster.