One side effect of the crisis in Ukraine is that estate agents operating in prime central London are likely to see yet another boost in business.
A range of property consultancies including Savills, Knight Frank, investment fund specialist London Central Portfolio and high-end buying agent Banda Property say they have received more inquiries than usual from Russians and Ukranians able to move their wealth out of their countries.
Knight Frank says Russians were the single largest group of buyers of homes priced above £1m in London last year, spending over £500m in total; Savills says the typical Russian home purchase in London is an eye-watering £6.3m.
Several Russians and Ukrainians are expected to use an investor visa scheme which allows those buying at least £1m worth of UK government gilts to have residency rights, although not to have a UK passport.
Meanwhile London remains the leading residential target' for the world's wealthiest people according to the 2014 Wealth Report from Knight Frank. It says more rich people from around the world have settled in London than in any other city, beating New York into second place.
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