Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

50 years of Asian success in UK real estate market

50 years of Asian success in UK real estate market

IT HAS been interesting to see how sophisticated the Asian community has become in dealing with real estate over the past five decades.

Looking back to the 1970s, when a large influx of Asians came to the UK, mostly from east Africa, after being expelled from Uganda, the community has shown remarkable entrepreneurial spirit and involvement in various businesses.


Initially, many Asians, with the support of their extended families, ensured stability by working in factories and clerical jobs to create capital. Their desire was to be independent and to establish businesses.

The evolution – from the first generation of Asians in the 1970s, who set up shops and leased their premises before buying them freehold – illustrates this entrepreneurial journey. As businesses became established, further opportunities arose to invest in real estate.

At the same time, business owners in other parts of Africa, including Kenya and Malawi, observed what had happened in Uganda. They recognised that regime changes could threaten their assets and livelihoods.

DP Comment Vijay Parikh Harold Benjamin 1 Vijay Parikh

Investing in commercial real estate from the early 1970s was not only attractive from an asset preservation standpoint, but also presented an opportunity to create income. The UK provided security through the rule of law and a stable government.

Profits from established businesses were often reinvested in real estate, and the affiliation between real estate and the Asian community has been strong.

While the first generation was risk-averse and sought secure income, the next generation has approached property entrepreneurship with a different perspective.

The recent shift has been in creating value by undertaking change-of-use projects, residential development, and repurposing land for owner occupation.

This change has brought a greater appetite for risk, leveraging finance and active involvement in adding value.

The next generation has not been shy about getting their hands dirty, whether by seeking the right advice, engaging in planning, or preparing sites for future development.

The Asian community invests in real estate not only for income, but also for their own occupation and use. They have undertaken bespoke developments to create hotels, nursing homes, and other businesses.

The involvement in real estate extends beyond buying, leasing, and selling. A large number of funds and finance companies have been established to provide short and long-term finance secured by property.

The success of the Asian community in real estate has been twofold: creating businesses that operate and occupy the assets and developing the assets to house these businesses.

The next generation is sophisticated in structuring and syndicating real estate assets and acquisitions. The love of real estate within the Asian community is here to stay, grow, and develop.

Vijay Parikh is the managing partner of Harold Benjamin. Established 70 years ago, it’s a medium size London law firm specialising in real estate, banking and finance and corporate legal services.

Parikh has more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience acting for lenders, national house builders, family offices from across the globe and hoteliers. He has strong relationships with agents and in particular the UK commercial auction houses.

The Eastern Eye Property Awards, celebrating diversity in the real estate sector, will be held on June 26.

More For You

Will government inaction on science, trade & innovation cost the UK its economic future?

The life sciences and science tech sectors more widely continue to see out migration of companies

iStock

Will government inaction on science, trade & innovation cost the UK its economic future?

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE

As the government wrestles with market backlash and deep business concern from early economic decisions, the layers of economic complexity are building.

The Independent reported earlier in January on the government watchdog’s own assessment of the cost of Brexit - something which is still being fully weighed up, but their estimates show that “the economy will take a 15 per cent hit to trade in the long term”. Bloomberg Economics valued the impact to date (in 2023) at £100bn in lost output each year - values and impact which must be read alongside the now over-reported and repetitively stated “black hole” in government finances, being used to rationalise decisions which are already proving damaging.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Peace in Middle East hinges on Trump’s volatile decisions’

Israeli military vehicles stationed in Nabatieh, Lebanon, last Sunday (26)

‘Peace in Middle East hinges on Trump’s volatile decisions’

CAN the ceasefire endure for any significant length of time? This would go some way to ameliorating the incredible suffering in the region, but does it all hinge on one man, more than the future of the region has ever depended in its entire history?

Ceasefires can’t hold if no progress is made in addressing the underlying issues that led to the conflict in the first place.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deep love for laughter

Pooja K

Deep love for laughter

Pooja K

MY JOURNEY with comedy has been deeply intertwined with personal growth, grief, and selfdiscovery. It stems from learning acceptance and gradually rebuilding the self-confidence I had completely lost over the last few years.

After the sudden and tragic loss of my father to Covid, I was overwhelmed with grief and depression. I had just finished recording a video for my YouTube channel when I received the devastating news. That video was part of a comedy series about how people were coping with lockdown in different ways.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK riots

Last summer’s riots demonstrated how misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric, ignited by a tiny minority of extremists, can lead to violence on our streets

Getty Images

‘Events in 2024 have shown that social cohesion cannot be an afterthought’

THE past year was marked by significant global events, and the death and devastation in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan – with diplomatic efforts failing to achieve peace – have tested our values.

The involvement of major powers in proxy wars and rising social and economic inequalities have deepened divisions and prolonged suffering, with many losing belief in humanity. The rapid social and political shifts – home and abroad – will continue to challenge our values and resilience in 2025 and beyond.

Keep ReadingShow less
Values, inner apartheid, and diet

The author at Mandela-Gandhi Exhibition, Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, South Africa (December 2024)

Values, inner apartheid, and diet

Dr. Prabodh Mistry

In the UK, local governments have declared a Climate Emergency, but I struggle to see any tangible changes made to address it. Our daily routines remain unchanged, with roads and shops as crowded as ever, and life carrying on as normal with running water and continuous power in our homes. All comforts remain at our fingertips, and more are continually added. If anything, the increasing abundance of comfort is dulling our lives by disconnecting us from nature and meaningful living.

I have just spent a month in South Africa, visiting places where Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela lived, including the jails. They both fought against the Apartheid laws imposed by the white ruling community. However, no oppressor ever grants freedom to the oppressed unless the latter rises to challenge the status quo. This was true in South Africa, just as it was in India. Mahatma Gandhi united the people of India to resist British rule for many years, but it was the threat posed by the Indian army, returning from the Second World War and inspired by the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose, that ultimately won independence. In South Africa, the threat of violence led by Nelson Mandela officially ended Apartheid in April 1994, when Mandela was sworn in as the country’s first Black president.

Keep ReadingShow less