Asian buyers were behind just under 60% of new-build property sales in central London in the last six months (November 2010-April 2011), according to a new research report issued by Knight Frank.

Hong Kong buyers were the largest group (24%), followed by Singaporeans (12%) and mainland Chinese (10%). According to the broker, the main driver for this result was the favourable exchange rate and London's status as the top destination for international property purchases.

Most recently, the King's Cross mixed-use development by King's Cross Central Limited Partnership was launched in Hong Kong and Singapore at the start of April and became one of the most successful overseas exhibitions ever. Knight Frank's International Project Marketing team also reports that £120 mln of its London residential property was snapped up by Asian buyers in the last two months alone.

The broker is therefore strengthening its International Project Marketing division in South East Asia, to support the huge growth in demand from the region.

'Asia is the fastest-growing region for cross-border sales of London property; having established this business with significant success in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, we are now rapidly expanding into mainland China,' said Neil Batty, head of Knight Frank IPM.