Going Dutch: British private developers and the discovery of European property markets 1970-1975

Abstract

This contribution investigates the arrival of British developers on Dutch soil during the 1970s from a transnational perspective. Doing so will not only reveal how British expertise and financial strength led to a maturation of the Dutch property market, but will also shed a new light on the economic, cultural and political ties between two European trading partners. There is much academic and public debate today about the invasion of global cities by foreign property investors, yet empirical investigations of historical predecessors to the current situation are virtually non-existent. This contribution puts Britain’s business relationship and interactions with Europe and the Netherlands central. This will reveal why British developers became interested in European property in the first place, how they viewed the market and its players based on national characteristics and stereotypes, and why British involvement eventually became heavily contested on the local level. This will lead to a more comprehensive and multifaceted narrative of British involvement in overseas property affairs during a period of growing rapprochement between Britain and the EEC, and adds to our understanding of both Anglo-European relations and local sentiments towards international influences in a more general sense. The focus of the article lies on attitudes and mindsets, as these ultimately facilitated the transnational flows of capital and knowledge exchange.