Private investors acquire £1.3bn of London office assets over 12 months Knight Frank’s latest research report on the capital’s office market has highlighted that over the last year, family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals have purchased £1.3bn worth of London office assets. Such high transaction volumes by wealthy private investors have been a by-product partly of […]
Category archives: Property Market Review
Commercial Property Review – August 2023
Higher interest rates dampen investment The results of the Q2 2023 RICS UK Commercial Property Monitor point to a renewed setback for the commercial property market, with an upward shift in interest rate expectations weighing on investor demand and placing downward pressure on capital values. The survey shows a clear majority of respondents (68%) are […]
Commercial Property Review – July 2023
Hotel investment The latest Knight Frank analysis of the UK hotel sector shows that transaction volumes were around £860m in H1 2023, 60% below investment volumes for the same period one year earlier. There is a challenging environment in the UK, reflective of the macro-economic environment, with sluggish GDP growth. Some deals have completed, as […]
Commercial Property Market Review – May 2023
Spotlight on UK retail The recently released shopping centre and high street spotlight from Savills for Q1 has highlighted that although the UK retail investment market has faced challenges, the occupational market has remained buoyant. From a volume perspective, emphasising consumer cautiousness in the face of high inflation, retail sales declined 3.2% year on year […]
Commercial Property Market Review – April 2023
Investor confidence returns as pricing plateaus UK commercial investment volumes totalled £5.6bn in Q1 2023, according to a report from Savills, the second lowest quarterly volume since 2009. Amidst a volatile and unpredictable economic backdrop, investment volumes were lower than any quarter except Q2 2020. The average Savills prime yield now stands at 5.57% after […]
Commercial Property Market Review – March 2023
Spring Budget – Investment Zones announced On 15 March, Jeremy Hunt delivered his “Budget for Growth” focusing on four pillars ‘Everywhere, Enterprise, Employment and Education.’ Encompassed within the ‘Everywhere’ pillar, Mr Hunt spoke about the government’s plans for ‘Levelling Up,’ including the launch of 12 new Investment Zones or “potential Canary Wharfs”. For each of […]
Commercial Property Market Review – February 2023
Commercial market downbeat but withstanding Conditions in the commercial property market continued to decline in Q4 2022, according to the latest UK Commercial Property Market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). At the national level, 83% of respondents consider the market to be in downturn, a slight increase from 81% in the […]
Commercial Property Market Review – January 2023
Commercial property deals at ten-year low Commercial property deals have collapsed to their lowest level in more than a decade, with just £7bn transacted in the final three months of 2022, according to CoStar. Investors have faced a series of shocks in the past year, including higher interest rates, the September ‘mini-budget’ and the prospect […]
Commercial Property Market Review – December 2022
Stability and optimism for commercial property Average prime yields stabilised in November, according to the latest Market in Minutes report from Savills, which also pointed to an optimistic outlook for 2023. The number of sectors seeing rising yields halved in a month, the report noted, though some sectors, including shopping centres and City of London […]
Commercial Property Market Review – November 2022
Weakening outlook for commercial property The Q3 2022 RICS UK Commercial Property Survey reveals a picture of weakening market activity, with 81% of respondents now considering the market to be in downturn. Headline expectations for rents and capital values were in negative territory in Q3. Prime office rents are expected to remain broadly flat in […]