A fresh investigation into overseas-held assets in the United Kingdom has linked late Nigerian banker Herbert Wigwe to 106 properties in London, placing him among the most prominent foreign holders of real estate in the British capital.
The report by The Londoner, titled “Revealed: The billionaires who really own London,” draws on newly mandated disclosures requiring foreign entities to declare their beneficial owners. The legal shift has enabled analysts to trace ownership of 32,611 properties across the city to overseas interests.
According to the publication, the data—compiled with support from tax expert Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates—was used to map thousands of offshore-linked assets, many of which are located in high-value districts.
The properties span some of London’s most sought-after locations, including Oxford Street, Canary Wharf and Greenwich Peninsula.
Wigwe, who died in a helicopter crash in the United States in February 2024 alongside members of his family and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, was ranked seventh among billionaires with the largest property holdings in London.
Before his death, he served as Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc. Since then, his estate has been the subject of ongoing legal disputes.
The investigation further revealed that a substantial portion of London’s high-end real estate is held through offshore entities, particularly in jurisdictions such as Jersey, where ownership structures had historically remained opaque.
By leveraging the newly available disclosures, the report sheds light on ownership patterns that were previously concealed, underscoring the scale of foreign investment in London’s property market and the complex structures used to hold such assets.
