Sales office for ‘One Blackfriars’ luxury flats opened in Dubai

The One Blackfriars tower is being developed by St George, part of the Berkeley Group.

A one-bedroom flat in the tower is currently being marketed for £1.275 million whilst a three-bedroom flat was recently advertised for £4.54 million.

"We are delighted to be opening a new 3,500 sq ft office in Dubai, which will provide an important base for us to showcase our developments, leading with 'One Blackfriars', a 50-storey tower, designed by leading architect Ian Simpson, located on London's South Bank opposite St Paul's Cathedral," said Mark Griffiths, managing director of One Blackfriars.

"We have an established database of UAE based clients who invest in London property and our new office will allow us to provide our Gulf-based clients and agents, with a tailor-made service to purchase properties in London.

"It is great to see Dubai bustling again; it is an important strategic business hub for the Middle East where business is done.

"The decision to directly invest in the UAE is a result of the success of our Hong Kong and Singapore offices, as it will allow us to build relationships with clients and understand their requirements."

Earlier this week Labour's shadow communities minister Emma Reynolds described the distortion of the central London housing market by overseas investors as "truly shocking and scandalous".

Ms Reynolds told the House of Commons that "foreign buyers are coming to London and using property here as a sophisticated piggy bank to store their money.

"That is leading to a huge distortion of the market, with Londoners forced further and further out in London and beyond."

The shadow minister said that a Labour government would ban developers from marketing new homes overseas before local buyers had had a chance to bid.

"It is wrong that people living in the UK are denied the chance to buy homes because they are being sold exclusively to overseas buyers," she said.

Speaking at a Centre for London seminar this week, Berkeley Group's Matt Bell said his company had already voluntarily agreed to give UK buyers the first opportunity to purchase homes in all its developments.

The One Blackfriars scheme includes no on-site affordable housing. Instead the developer is paying Southwark Council £29 million to help build new council homes elsewhere in the borough.