Less than one in every 350 adults in the UK together own half of all the UK’s privately held investments according to Tulip Financial Resear...

Less than one in every 350 adults in the UK together own half of all the UK’s privately held investments according to Tulip Financial Research in a new report on the property investments of the UK’s richest private investors.

These 135,000 high net worth individuals own £780 billion worth out of the UK’s total of £1.6 trillion of liquid investible assets, an average of £6 million each in liquid assets according to the report.

Over 40 per cent, or 54,000, of these HNWs now hold physical residential or commercial investment property, to the value of £65 billion, or £1.2 million per investor, as part of their portfolios. This excludes investors’ homes or second homes.

Of the UK’s investment property owners, 30,000 invest only in residential properties, 9,000 only in commercial properties, whilst the remaining 15,000 own both residential and commercial property.

Real estate now accounts for more than 30 per cent of their total portfolio assets, the single biggest investment category and well ahead of the value of equity investments, according to the report.

Most investment properties are bought outright for cash, and the single most important investment driver is the perceived opportunity to get both significant rental income and capital growth, says the report.

Although most HNW property investors take occasional professional investment advice, some from private banks, others from private asset managers or independent financial advisors, almost all (89 per cent) say that none of their advisors have any expertise in property investment.