London's high-end residential market is being radically reshaped as ultra-high-net-worth owners are increasingly selling off their multimillion-pound palaces to move to the United Arab Emirates. In their place, high-net-worth Emiratis are stepping forward to buy the capital's most elite homes.
A total of £694 million worth of "super-prime" London houses those worth £15 million or more were sold in the first half of 2025, according to new statistics from Beauchamp Estates and property information company LonRes. The deals included headline sales such as the sale of the Icelandic embassy in Mayfair for £22 million and a £15 million family house on Cheyne Gardens in Chelsea, according to The Times.
The majority of these transactions, two-thirds, were non-domiciled owners who have fled the UK following the government abolishing preferential tax status for them in April. Beauchamp Estates founder Gary Hersham claimed the majority among these vendors have emigrated to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but others have migrated to cities such as Milan, Monaco, and Miami.
"A specialist 'house-swapping' dynamic is in operation," Hersham added, pointing out that while non-doms are leaving London for the UAE, Emirati buyers are now snapping up the UK capital's most desirable neighbourhoods. Many of the original owners are still retaining a smaller property or pied-à-terre in London to pop down to from time to time.".
Though Middle Eastern shoppers are at the forefront, high-net-worth individuals from America are increasingly becoming a driving force within London's luxury market. They include some who are purportedly relocating to the UK amid political frustration with President Donald Trump and others leveraging tax breaks under his administration to finance international property buys.
Beauchamp managing director Jeremy Gee provided a guarded note of optimism by saying that the luxury sector was potentially stabilising. While the overall value of super-prime sales fell by 13% relative to the first half of 2024, this is more positive than the 23% fall in the preceding year.
Still, pricing pressure persists. Many who bought £20 million homes ten years ago are now facing paper losses. With an oversupply of trophy properties, sellers are becoming more flexible, and the gap between asking and final sale prices has widened to 8.1% up from 5.4% last year.
