Data from CBRE shows that overseas commercial property investors are increasingly interested in the UK’s regional cities due to a lack of supply of prime stock in Central London.
Close to three quarters (74 per cent) of overseas investment in the first quarter of 2014 was in assets outside the central core, up from 61 per cent in the previous three months and marking the highest proportion recorded since the fourth quarter of 2011. But this figure is still below the historic high of 83 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2009.
Approximately £1 billion was involved in these transactions. £10 million came from Asian and Middle Eastern investors as Non-European capital increasingly spreads to the regional markets.
Overall, the European commercial investment market started 2014 on a very positive note in the first quarter. Sales were up 21 per cent over the same period in 2013 and at their highest level since the first quarter of 2008.
Ireland, Italy, and Spain all saw year-on-year increases in investment activity in the first quarter of 2014 as investors continue to embrace a higher level of risk. Spain recorded €988 million in turnover and took up an increasing share of the European investment market (3 per cent). Ireland recorded its highest quarterly total since 2006 at €939 million, representing per cent of the market.