The UK lost a net 10,800 millionaires in 2024, the second highest exodus of any country behind China, and it accounts for a 157% increase in the number of millionaires leaving compared to 2023. Most prominent among those choosing to leave are Charlie Mullins, founder of Pimlico Plumbers; Richard Gnodde, senior banker at Goldman Sachs; and Nassef Sawiris, executive chairman of OCI Global. This staggering loss has impacted many important property metrics, and it has raised concerns that this could worsen unless there is an adequate policy to entice international investment into the property market.
What Has Caused the Mass Exit?
Stated as a priority in the Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto is ‘cracking down on tax avoidance and non-dom loopholes’, pledging to ‘abolish non-dom status once and for all, replacing it with a modern scheme for people genuinely in the country for a short period’. This objective guided the decision in the October budget to repeal a number of tax privileges for non-doms, now subject to paying taxes on their worldwide income and gains as opposed to only their income and gains in the UK.
One area where there has been an immediate impact is the decline of capital gains tax from £14.5bn in March 2024 to £13bn in March 2025. Robert Salter, director at Blick Rothenberg, argues that ‘the move to end non-dom tax regime could reduce the number of wealthy non-doms in the UK and hence reduce future CGT receipts’.
The OBR issued a further warning that the potential £9.9bn generated from the reforms to the non-dom tax system is ‘a very small margin compared to the risks and uncertainty inherent in any fiscal forecast’.
Since Labour took office in July 2024, house prices in prime areas for international investment have declined: Kensington and Chelsea by -14.6%, Westminster by -8%, and Hammersmith and Fulham by –6.6%.
Yet it is important to stress that the volume of UK exchanges below £5m has increased by 7% from September 2024 to March 2025, driven largely by London’s status as a secure metropolitan for investment during episodes of global market volatility. As Savvas Savouri, chief economist at Quantmetriks, succinctly put, ‘the UK remains attractive, political warts and all’.
A UK Investor Visa
Nonetheless, it remains important to placate the loss of wealthy investors from leaving the country, for the long-term implications of Labour’s reform on non-dom taxation may displace the UK as a top destination for international investment. Economic growth is crucial.
One commonly discussed policy direction to entice the international community to remain in the UK is the introduction of an investor visa. Foreign Investors for Britain (FIFB), a non-partisan organisation consisting of business investors, has proposed a ‘Tiered Tax Regime’, a system where foreign investors pay an annual sum contingent upon their level of wealth, with the upper bracket being £2m annually.
Working alongside Oxford Economics, FIFB surveyed 72 non-doms and 42 tax advisors and identified that investors want long-term financial assurance, a fair and equitable taxation system calibrated specifically to individual wealth level, and inheritance protection from non-UK assets.
Of those surveyed, 79% would choose to remain in the UK if there were an investor visa in place. The respondents likewise indicated that it would make emigrating from the UK less attractive if an investor visa were introduced, with only 5% indicating that they would still insist on immigrating elsewhere. Among those with a net wealth of over £100m, 85% of the respondents said they would come to the UK under an investor visa, compared to 76% among those with a net wealth under £100m.
Two central objectives are met under the investor visa scheme. The first is to ensure that the UK remains competitive against the international market as a top investment destination, thereby stemming the number of investors choosing other places to invest (such as Dubai, Singapore, and Monaco). The second is to drive economic growth into the country by facilitating greater investment from the international financial community. By 2029/30, an investor visa could increase the number of foreign investors by 61% and generate up to £680m in tax revenue.
Should the Government Introduce a UK Investor Visa?
Ultimately, international investors are crucial to the UK economy, and it is essential to entice industry leaders to invest in the UK housing market. As such, a UK investor visa is a worthwhile option for the Government to consider. It is likely to entice international investors to remain or come to the UK, convinced that investing in the country is a worthwhile endeavour. Increasing investment in Prime Central London, an area hosting some of the most affluent industry leaders from across the globe, will raise demand and therefore contribute towards strengthening the vitality of the high-end property market.
