Demand for commercial property in Britain high among investors
Demand for commercial property in Britain continues to be robust, regardless of ongoing Brexit uncertainty. This was the finding of a review of the commercial property sector in the UK by GVA, the UK’s leading and most diverse property advisory-led business.
The review found that while many European investors are practicing caution over the UK market, predominantly due to the uncertainty created by Brexit, demand from investors from further afield, particularly from the Far East and China, remains strong and has even strengthened throughout 2018.
It’s not only foreign investors putting their money into commercial property in London. According to GVA’s review of the commercial property investment market, domestic investors have made a ‘come back’ this year, accounting for approximately 12% more purchases this year compared to in 2017.
“Regardless of political uncertainty, the fundamentals of the UK commercial property market will continue to make it an attractive place to invest and London remains the number one priority target of investors outside of Europe,” writes GVA.
The report points to divergences between different types of commercial property assets. For example, office and retail premises generally garner greater yields compared to industrial property.
The GVA’s review follows earlier reports about how the commercial property investment market is faring in Britain.
According to figures from CBRE, in July 2018, the acquisition of large volumes of office space in Central London stood at 1.2m sq ft, significantly higher than the monthly average of 1.0m sq ft.
The rise was due to leading tech firms moving into the capital, including two deals made by Facebook, which acquired a number of high-profile commercial property.
Simon Calvert, Senior Director, CBRE commented on the growing demand for commercial property in London:
“It is a sign of international confidence in London that major tech and creative companies are continuing to acquire large volumes of space across the Capital. The outlook for the next quarter remains positive, with July under offers 43 percent above the 10-year monthly average, having been above average for each of the last eight months.”
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