Luxury apartments sold by British developers and ‘designed to exceed the wishes of the most discerning residents’ are being snapped up by China’s wealthy

The five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel, nestled among the skyscraper banking towers of the central district of Hong Kong, is about as stark a contrast with Abbey Wood as is possible.

But it was here, last weekend, that the new Abbey Tower luxury apartment development went on sale. The selling agents were surrounded by waiters in white and gold uniforms serving drinks and snacks to a steady flow of potential buyers, and over the two-day event the panels listing the flats available were slowly covered in red “SOLD” stickers.

Around them, in the soft light of the hotel, were the artist’s impressions of the soon-to-be-finished tower – the first phase of the Cross Quarter development, which will be completed in 2018.

This regeneration project will comprise 220 apartments, together with commercial and retail space, a large Sainsbury’s, and numerous transport links. The smaller apartments started at £ 249,999, the larger units commanded far more.

“Our daughter will study in England,” said one potential buyer, pointing to a teenage girl as he perused the promotional leaflets.

Others strode across the plush carpet more purposefully, sitting for little more than an hour with the agents before sealing deals. A few were from mainland China, but the majority were local Hong Kong people looking for a haven for themselves or their savings.

Real estate is an obsession in this city, and it is a passion not lost on the international promoters. Developments in Sydney or Melbourne are regularly advertised, but London is a special case, with countless projects launched in Hong Kong months before Londoners even get to hear about them.

On any given day, the biggest English and Chinese language newspapers carry notices about “new landmark addresses” – which evidently include Abbey Wood – that must not be missed, and there are regular marketing events in the swankiest hotels, to sell London properties to eager Hong Kongers.

Last weekend at the Mandarin, the Abbey Tower launch was one of two events competing for buyers’ attention.

In the room behind, a second London project was being launched by property group Colliers International, a development called Arden Court, in Bermondsey, SE1: “This weekend we are in Hong Kong, next weekend we will be in Singapore, and by the end of the year we will be launching in London,” said one selling representative.

Pricier than Abbey Tower, and “designed to exceed the wishes of the most discerning residents”, Arden Court boasts “a sense of seclusion that belies its central location”. Flats start at £550,000 for a 544 sq ft one-bedroomed apartment, and rise to £1,530,000 for three bedrooms.

In both cases, though, the apartments on offer were snapped up eagerly by a mix of local investors – those who have been priced out of Hong Kong and for whom London still seems good value – and families eager to secure a place in the former colonial capital, either for themselves or for their offspring.

Such is the interest in Hong Kong for British properties that luxury UK developer Berkeley Group has a large showroom in Central. Then there are other dedicated agencies, like London Direct, which sells “prime Central London property in Hong Kong”, with offers “not applicable to purchasers located in the United Kingdom, Australia or the United States of America”.