Anne Porter Properties chairwoman Anne Porter says this is a significant step in the company's growth. "Knight Frank is one of the largest and most respected companies of its kind in the world." She says they have land and buildings worth more than $300-billion and that last year their commercial sales and purchases totalled almost 20-billion. Their residential sales were more than $7-billion.

Peter Caroe, a partner in Knight Frank, says that over the past year Knight Frank and Anne Porter Properties had an informal agreement which resulted in numerous British citizens buying homes in SA .

Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Properties, says that although the strengthening rand had initially reduced Cape property sales to UK buyers, the growing strength of the South African economy and a 25% annual growth rate in local residential property had acted as an incentive to UK buyers to invest in the country.

She believes the number of UK investors will increase over the next two years.

Business Day