Foreign embassies abandoning elite London addresses

[LONDON] Foreign embassies are abandoning London's premier addresses such as Mayfair and Kensington as the world of diplomacy changes in the face of security risks and new technology, just as property prices are reaching untold heights.

The trend to move further afield to more secure, functional properties is being led by the US, which on Wednesday marked out its future in a new site south of the River Thames.

Estate agent Wetherell and the Diplomat magazine found at least 20 of the 165 diplomatic missions in London have been sold or explored a sale in the past six months after prices in up-market embassy areas rose by up to 60 per cent since 2007. But the exit from palatial houses in ritzy areas was also seen as reflecting the changing nature of diplomacy, with extravagant displays of nationalism deemed inappropriate in a tough economy and greater security needed.