More Brits return to UK pastures

 
The number of British holiday home owners downsizing or selling their place in the sun and repatriating money to the UK has doubled in the last year, claims foreign exchange specialist HiFX.

One in five of those repatriating money from France are aged over 65, and 77% of repatriators are aged 55 or above. In Spain, 67% of Brits sending Euros back to the UK are also aged over 55.

Mark Bodega, marketing director at HiFX, said: “The overseas property market really took off about 20 years ago when the first tranche of Brits started looking for their dream home in the sun; particularly in France and Spain.

According to our figures it now seems that these people are either downsizing to smaller properties or selling their holiday homes now that their families have grown up and are sending money home; only to be replaced by a whole new generation of buyers.”

HiFX has seen a 100% increase in the number of Euro back to Sterling transactions in the last year. The largest numbers of people are sending money back from Spain and France and the average age of those repatriating strongly points towards downsizers.