UK property developer woos Chinese buyers

A UK property developer is targeting Chinese buyers looking for investment opportunities while China maintains strict domestic property rules.

"We plan to attract individual Chinese buyers as well as institutions to invest in UK properties as we have seen a strong surge in Chinese investment in overseas property in the past 5 years," said Louis Bai, CEO of the Beijing office of Barratt Homes.

Barratt Homes, a UK house builder listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1968, opened its Beijing office on Tuesday, providing localized services for overseas property investment.

Asian buyers accounted for 31 percent of investors in London's newly built houses in 2011, compared with 14 percent in 1992 and the Chinese have become the fourth largest buyers in London's secondhand property market, according to Bai.

Property buying in London is mainly for investment as the city has rich educational resources, high rental costs and rising property prices, Bai said.