More and more foreign investors are looking to the UKs commercial property market, as somewhere to invest their money.
It was back in 2009 that Jones Lang LeSalle, first reported on a tide of foreign investment entering the UKs commercial property market, with investors favouring London as the place to invest their capital.
Chris Brett, Director of Jones Lang LaSalle’s International Desk in London, said: ‘London was the first European market to correct after the recession, and the relative weakness of sterling allied to strong real estate fundamentals, high liquidity, and clear pricing transparency attracted foreign investors to both the West End and the City of London.’
Jones Lang LeSalle, has declared in a recent report, ‘in 2009 and 2010, foreign investors made 85% and 65%, respectively, of all commercial real estate purchases in London.’
Foreign investment is something that London’s commercial property market has become reliant on since the recession hit our shores and fortunately shows no signs of abating. It is a key reason for the commercial property market in London performing well and not suffering the same fate as commercial property in the regions.
A large percentage of this foreign investment in commercial property is arriving from the Far East and this shows no signs of curtailing. With Chris Brett, stating, ‘There is a huge weight of investor demand from overseas, and this will support stability in pricing… There were more Asian investors in the market in the first quarter of 2011 than during the same period of 2010.’
It is hoped that 2011 will see a further increase in demand for commercial property in the capital, which would be a very good sign for the market. Bill Page, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Head of EMEA Office Research, said, ‘demand volumes increased during the first quarter of 2011 for the first time since early 2009.’
All in all, the picture is good one for commercial property in London, with foreign investors filling the void created by the recession.
