‘Trophy’ properties in super prime markets have bucked the Brexit trend.

Analysis from Savills has revealed that sales of homes worth more than £15m surged by 43% in 2018.

Some 73 properties worth more than £15m were sold last year, with a total value just shy of £2bn, the highest since 2014 when the Government introduced new, progressive Stamp Duty tariffs, resulting in much higher transaction costs at the top end of the market.

In 2017 there were just 51 sales in this price bracket, with a total value of £1.4bn, Savills said.

The agent also recorded a further 261 sales of properties worth between £5m and £15m across London, with a total value just below £2bn. However, transactions in this price bracket were down, compared with 290 sales in 2017.

For the first time since 2008, ahead of the financial crisis, as much was spent in total on £15m-plus properties as on those worth between £5m and £15m, and the average price paid for these high-value properties was still £3,375 per square foot – 14 times the average across England as a whole.

Overall, almost £4bn worth of prime London homes worth more than £5m changed hands in 2018, up 10% annually.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “The price falls we’ve seen in the central London market, when combined with the depreciation of sterling, means the trophy properties of central London look relatively good value in an international context.

“Despite the backdrop of political uncertainty and a less welcoming tax environment, these figures are clear evidence that London remains an attractive place for a growing pool of international high net worth individuals to live and conduct business.”