Amid continuing interest in prime London real estate, Bank of London and The Middle East has launched an advisory service to help private clients source and acquire property, as either an investment or residence.

The firm notes that London's prime real estate has outperformed almost every other asset class over the last 40 years, with prices swelling by 43.7 per cent since their post-credit crunch low in March 2009.

From a more recent perspective, while rents within the prime property segment in central London fell by 0.3 per cent in May, reversing the 0.1 per cent rise in April, prices rose by 0.7 per cent, taking the yearly growth to 10.7 per cent, according to recent figures from the UK’s Knight Frank.

“London remains one of the most desirable destinations in the world and we continue to see an increase in demand for high-quality prime residential real estate,” Nigel Denison, BLME's head of treasury and wealth management, said in a statement. “We have helped clients find investment property, such as luxury flats or a main residence in one of the ‘golden postcodes’ of London.”

As part of the new service, clients will also be guided through the legal and tax hurdles involved in the purchase of property.

BLME is an independent Shariah-compliant bank based in London. Its three key business areas are corporate banking, treasury and wealth management - which includes asset management - and private banking.