CBRE: Investment in City offices hit an all-time high in 2015
Investment in City offices rose reached its highest ever last year, according to new figures.
Real estate giant CBRE's London Property Perspective report, seen exclusively by City PM, shows office investment rose to £8.2bn in 2015, eclipsing the previous record of £7.5bn set in 2007. In the fourth quarter alone, investment in the City rose 49 per cent.
The figure was pushed up by a surge in activity from China and the US, which accounted for 29 per cent and 24 per cent of volumes respectively. Both countries led the charge oon the largest transactions – with 15 of the 22 deals over £100m accounted for by Chinese and American buyers.
That was in sharp contrast to Central London, where office investment fell just over £2bn to £16.2bn during 2015. Only 43 deals worth more than £100m were completed during the year, compared with 49 in 2014.
However, there was an eight per cent spike in deals during the fourth quarter, said Stephen Pearson, executive director of Central London capital markets at CBRE.
“At the end of the year, we saw a healthy spike in investment for Central London as a whole and we believe this renewed appetite, evidenced by the number of deals which have spilt over into 2016, will lead to continued strong performance.”