According to Savills research, reduced city bonus expectations have led to a noticeable shift in the profile of buyers of prime London residential property.

Lucian Cook, director of Savills research, said: “The biggest impact has been in the £2-£4m price bracket where the proportion of buyers employed in the financial and business sectors has reduced by just over 25% since August this year.”

There has not been any significant impact below £1m because city buyers are less active in this market or above £4m where overseas money is dominant.

However the impact is also being felt in the £1-£2m category. In this price band the proportion of city buyers is down by 20%.

Cook again, “The beneficiaries of reduced city demand have been buyers previously unable to compete with big bonus buyers who nonetheless have accumulated significant wealth from the likes of the property, IT and media industries”.