Reported by: Rupert Neate Wealth correspondent

More than 138,000 residential and commercial properties in England and Wales are owned by offshore companies, with holdings in London worth a combined £55bn, according to research shared with the Guardian.

The findings come as the government begins a crackdown to dismantle the secrecy that surrounds offshore property ownership, which it says has been used by “corrupt elites laundering money through UK property”.

The land registry lists about 94,000 property titles as owned by offshore companies, but many titles include multiple properties on a single plot. By counting all of the properties owned, researchers have found an additional 44,000.

Under new rules, overseas entities that own UK property must register with Companies House and provide details of their true beneficial owners by 31 January 2023. However, only a handful more than 1,000 had declared their true owners by the end of September according to a review by moneylaundering.com.

Read full report: https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/07/more-than-138000-properties-in-england-and-wales-owned-by-offshore-companies