SALES of properties worth more than £1 million have reached a record high, according to a report by a mortgage lender.

Lloyds Bank says the number of transactions involving houses valued at £1m or more across the UK has increased 46 per cent during the first half of 2014, compared to the same period last year.

In Scotland, sales at the very top end of the property market rose 5 per cent, while Edinburgh has been revealed as the main hotspot for rich property investors.

The bank's research found there were 6,143 property sales worth £1m or more in Great Britain during the first half of 2014, equivalent to 33 transactions every day. In 2013, sales in the first six months totalled 4,198, equivalent to 23 a day.

Overall, sales of homes valued at £1m and more have tripled since the first half of 2009, when the economic downturn drove the top end of the market into a nosedive to its lowest point of the past decade with 1,382 transactions - roughly seven a day.

Premium property at this level is now outperforming the more mainstream market, with the increase in £1m home sales significantly outpacing the 26 per cent rise in the number of properties valued at below £1m that were bought and sold over the period.

Million pound properties now account for 1.3 per cent of all national residential sales, up from 0.60% in 2009.

The figures show London drives the top end of the property market, with seven out of 10 of all transactions during the first half of 2014 taking place in the capital.

However, Edinburgh recorded the highest number of £1m sales outside of southern England, with 21 taking place between January and June this year.

Overall, there were 43 sales of £1m properties in the first half of 2014, including six in Aberdeen, three in Renfrewshire and two in East Dunbartonshire.

Other areas with sales at this level include East Lothian, Fife and Perth and Kinross. All regions of the UK have recorded an increase in sales in 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier.

The largest percentage rises in £1m home sales were in the North East (150%), West Midlands (100%), South West (87%) and the East Midlands (80%).

Sarah Deaves, private banking director at Lloyds Bank, said: "The number of homes sold for at least a £1m is at a record high, with this sector of the housing market growing by almost a half in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2013.

"Property values in prime locations have been boosted by growing demand from wealthy, and often cash rich, buyers from the UK and overseas, as well as limited supply of such properties.

"Although demand has grown across all regions of Britain in 2014, the greatest concentration is in London, particularly the boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster."

However, estate agents said the figures must be used with caution, as the high-value market can also include estates as well as individual properties, while cash transactions can be overlooked when examining mortgage lending figures.

Faisal Choudhry, associate director and head of Scottish research at estate agent Savills, said there had been a "modest" rise in sales of houses valued at £1m and over.

He said: "What is interesting is the number of buyers from outside Scotland who are interested in buying property here. Out of our 86 sales during the course of this year, about a quarter have been to foreign investors."