There has been a sharp rise in the number of UK properties who are primarily based in Russia, the latest figures show.

The number of UK property owners who have a principle correspondence address in Russia reached 1,127 in August 2021, according to data released by the Land Registry under Freedom of Information laws. That is up from 86 at the start of 2010 – a 1,200% increase.

In reality the figure is likely to be a lot higher, given that a number of properties are owned by companies – a structure generally favoured by wealthy owners seeking to camouflage their holdings.

Prime minister Boris Johnson’s pledge last week to clampdown on the register of overseas property ownership, in light of the Ukraine invasion, could finally thrust such anonymous owners into the open.

A registry would be a marked shift for the UK’s often opaque property market where offshore entities can shield the identities of owners.

It is estimated that more than 85,000 properties are owned by offshore entities, according to Transparency International, a non-profit organisation.

The UK measures, which will include a new unit in the National Crime Agency to target “Russian assets hidden in the UK,” will, according to Johnson, mean that “oligarchs in London have nowhere to hide.”