Wealthy Asian investors are being targeted by a scheme that allows borrowers to buy new-build homes off-plan in the UK and then defer stumping up cash for a deposit.

The scheme, which is being launched to investors in Singapore and Hong Kong, makes it easier for buyers in Asia to purchase a home in the UK where demand for new-build properties has been slowing.

It comes as the housing market faces a marked retreat from UK borrowers after the credit squeeze and the decision by banks to tighten up their lending criteria.

Mortgage approvals have fallen by 25 per cent on long-term trends, which has hit housebuilders such as Barratt and Redrow.

The new scheme, which has been set up by insurer Zurich Financial Services, is aimed at customers who want to delay paying a cash deposit - which on a new-build home can easily be more than £20,000 ($40,000) - until their property has been built.

It allows homeowners to buy a property deposit guarantee for a fee.

Under the scheme's terms, housebuilders accept the guarantee secured by Zurich in place of a cash deposit.

The scheme has been running in the UK since last year and has now been extended to wealthier customers in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Ballymore, a UK developer of luxury properties, is one of the companies that has signed up, enabling its customers in Hong Kong to buy premium properties in the UK.

All the leading developers in the UK, including Redrow and Persimmon, have signed up to offer the guarantee scheme to their customers and there are about 110,000 new homes in the UK where the guarantee can be used.

Steve Melhuish, director of PropertyGuru.com.sg, Singapore's leading online property portal, said: "This product will totally revolutionise how we in Asia invest in properties in the UK."

The scheme helps customers who may not be able to afford the entire deposit immediately or who do not wish to tie their cash up for several months.

Typically, buyers of new-build homes must pay a cash deposit of at least 5 per cent of the value immediately - even though the property may not be built for six to nine months.

The scheme is being run by Zurich and the XBond company, a business chaired by Paul Gratton, a former chief executive of Egg, the internet bank.