London prepared for Chinese real estate investors

"London has always been a magnet for overseas investment, whether it was from the Middle East, the US or from around Europe. Chinese investment is the newcomer," says Eric Pang, head of the China desk at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc, an investment management company specializing in real estate.

Offices, hotels, apartments and mixed developments have proven so far to be the most attractive assets for Chinese buyers. For example, Dalian Wanda Group, one of China's largest conglomerates, invested 700 million pounds in June 2013 to build a five-star hotel beside the River Thames, which runs through the city center.

Chinese state-owned developer Greenland Holding Group announced early last year it will invest 1.2 billion pounds in two overseas development projects in London. They include a residential building on the historic Ram Brewery site and a high-end residential project in Canary Wharf.

China's banks also like London. Last June, China Construction Bank paid 110 million pounds to acquire No 111 Old Broad St in the city's financial district, known locally as the City.

And it is not only a British phenomenon. "Interest from Chinese investors in European property has been constantly rising for the past two, three years," says Sebastian Fischer, managing partner at estate agency Engel & Voelkers in Berlin. "Institutional buyers are mainly looking for large investment properties, while private individuals generally want apartments.

"European property has always been a well-functioning asset and is highly attractive from a Chinese portfolio management standpoint. Interest has risen due to the weaker euro and insecurities on Chinese stock markets."

Paloma Perez Bravo at E&V's office in Madrid adds that there has also been an increase in Chinese investment in Spain.

"Three percent of overseas buyers were from China in 2013. The following year it was 3.4 percent. We don't have the statistics for this year yet, but we expect it to be about 4 percent. So Chinese buyers are increasing year-on-year," she says. "In Q2 this year, we had many Chinese buying houses in Madrid. In Q4 2014, it was a very good time, as a lot of Chinese people came to ask about properties."

As in London, Dalian Wanda showed its ambitions to go global last year by acquiring the Edificio Espana, a Madrid landmark that was Europe's tallest building when it was completed in 1953. The company paid Grupo Santander 260 million euros ($282 million) to secure the historic structure.