While the South African rand continues to decline on the international market, local investors have increased their investment in UK properties by nearly 400% in the last 18 months as a way to protect their future.

A report by global property consultancy firm Knight Frank shows that South Africans invested more in London property than their counterparts from richer countries, outperforming Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

According to an AFKInsider report, chief investment officer at Allan Gray Andrew Lapping says many South African property companies are raising money and investing in property in Europe and the UK, due to the fact that currently it’s cheaper to borrow money in Europe. One of the companies doing just that is luxury retailer Richemont, which recently bought a property valued at around US$276 million in London’s upmarket New Bond Street.

12 July 2016
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