It has been reported that the importance of Investment from outside the UK, such as China and South Africa, will further increase for the commercial property market in Scotland in 2017.
The figures from 2016 show nearly two thirds of the commercial property spend was from foreign investors. Furthermore, for the city of Edinburgh, the number is significantly higher, with more than 80% of the total commercial property spend of £966 million coming from overseas.
Alasdair Steele, Head of Scotland Commercial at Knight Frank, predicts the percentage to increase in 2017, with several important transactions expected in its other major cities including Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Mr Steele said, with more planned activity in Glasgow, “what you’ll see is a mirroring what has happened in Edinburgh, with bigger deals and more significant deals coming out. They are more likely to be acquired by overseas money so I think we’ll see a rebalancing of transactional levels and investment interest across the cities.”
Mr Steele further stated the impact of the country’s second independence referendum was low and has not raised a concern for the investors.
Although London remains the UK’s top location for investment, investors are finding it more difficult to receive the required yields due to the city’s high competition. As a result, cities in Scotland, especially Edinburgh, have recently been performing strong in terms of attracting both national and international investors.
