Specialist mortgage lender Skipton International says it has received over £500m of expat mortgage enquiries for UK buy to let property in the first seven months of the year.

Figures to the end of July 2017 show a 130 per cent increase in enquiries for expat mortgages compared to the same period in 2016.

Nearly a quarter of enquiries came from British expats in the United Arab Emirates. The other top five countries for expat enquiries included the USA, Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland.

“Despite changes for buy-to-let landlords such as the phasing out of interest rate relief, buy to let investments have continued to prove popular with growing number of British expats looking at ways to secure long term investments in the UK” explains Nigel Pascoe, director of lending at the firm. 

Skipton International launched the UK mortgages in 2014 in response to the difficulties many British expats faced securing loans on investment property in England and Wales.