Over 100 new tall buildings have been proposed for the British capital in the last year, but only a small number are actually being built, according to the latest industry research.
According to CBRE's Global Investor Intentions Survey 2015, global real estate investors remain confident and their intentions are expansionary, with more than half planning to increase their acquisitions in 2015. Globally, 53 percent of investors plan to increase their purchases this year. Investor appetite for cross-regional acquisitions has increased significantly with 38 percent of respondents intending to invest outside their own region this year-up from 28 percent in 2014. Among these investors, 31 percent identified Western Europe as the top destination. Despite the slowdown in China, 27 percent of investors regarded Asia as their preferred investment destination, with economic growth there still outpacing other regions and continuing to offer significant long-term growth potential. London retained its position as the top city for investment, while other gateway cities such as Tokyo, Sydney, New York and Paris remained in the top ten. Second-tier cities saw an increase in investor interest in 2015, with Madrid, Dallas and Seattle all making the top ten. This reflects investors' search for more attractive yields, as well as greater knowledge and comfort with a larger number of global cities. There is also a marked increase in appetite among investors from Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and North America for value-add and opportunistic investments. In contrast, Asia Pacific saw a significant jump in investors preferring prime core assets at 43 percent in 2015, compared to 29 percent last year."The appetite for global real estate investment is increasing as more investors intend to deploy capital outside of their own region this year. Competition for assets is intensifying and many investors plan to move out the risk curve in search of higher yields-a trend that will result in a stronger focus on value-add and opportunistic investments. We believe that a low interest rate environment, economic expansion in an increasing number of markets, and corresponding improvement in real estate fundamentals will attract capital to commercial real estate," said Chris Ludeman, Global President, CBRE Capital Markets.Office and industrial remain the preferred asset classes, selected by 33 percent and 29 percent of investors respectively. Investor interest in industrial and logistics assets is being driven by the structural change in the retail sector and the growth of e-commerce; however, there is a limited supply of assets in this sector available for sale, meaning that investors will continue to face challenges when sourcing deals.Half of respondents identified asset pricing as the top obstacle to acquiring real estate assets. The tight availability of assets (21 percent) and competition from other investors (19 percent) were also identified as obstacles in all regions."The "new normal" economic environment of moderate growth, low interest rates and compressing bond yields continue to drive investment in commercial real estate. We also observe the continuing globalization of the investment market, reflected by the 40 percent y-o-y growth in cross-regional capital flows in 2014-a figure well above the growth rate for the market overall. The survey findings strengthen our view that overall volumes and cross-regional investment will increase in 2015," said Richard Barkham, Global Chief Economist, CBRE.
"Maxwell Brown's 32-year track record serving the UK market, combined with the expertise of its professionals, strengthens our capability to serve the UK market, where we see opportunities for further growth," said Robert Courteau, Chief Executive Officer of Altus Group. "London is one of the most important and strategic real estate markets globally and extending our depth of expertise to a wider area of London is consistent with our strategy."Founded in 1983, Maxwell Brown is an independent provider of commercial real estate advisory services throughout the UK, with significant presence in the southern M25/M23 and South London markets. Maxwell Brown offers a comprehensive suite of advisory services related to property tax (occupied rates and empty rates services), property acquisition and disposal, lease renewals and other corporate real estate requirements. Their clients include institutional corporate property owners, property companies, developers and corporate occupiers. Maxwell Brown's team of 8 professionals will join Altus Group's global Property Tax business unit and will be integrated with Altus Edwin Hill in the UK."We are very excited to welcome Maxwell Brown's professionals to our team, whose expertise and reputation is highly regarded in our industry," said Alex Probyn, President of Altus Edwin Hill. "We see attractive growth opportunities in the UK market and believe that the synergies brought by this acquisition will help us meet a broader range of client needs and add significant value to our combined clients."Maxwell Brown's co-owners Nick Woodman and Jonathan Broome, who will continue to have leading roles in the business, said: "Joining Altus Group has a number of strategic benefits for our clients, who increasingly require fully integrated real estate solutions. Altus Group's global scale, complementary advisory services and innovative software and data solutions will enhance our ability to serve our clients. We also look forward to working closely with Altus Group's UK regional offices to provide a comprehensive service throughout the London and South East property market."The acquisition is expected to be financially accretive to adjusted earnings per share ("EPS"). Additional financial disclosure will be made available in the Company's next quarterly report.
Future tenants of the City’s major office buildings are increasingly likely to hail from the Far East - and their requirements may come as a bit of a surprise.
The amount of office space being built in central areas of the capital rose 24 per cent in the six months to the end of March, a survey of construction activity by advisory firm Deloitte has found — the second-biggest increase in 20 years.
European commercial property prices grew by a record 7.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, fuelled by the ongoing recovery in the UK’s regional property markets.Figures out yesterday by property adviser DTZ show that prices rose by 20 per cent for the year overall thanks to a record last quarter, when investors splurged €65bn (£47.4bn) on European commercial property.The strongest growth was in the UK regions, which increased by 35 per cent compared to a year ago.Nigel Almond, the head of Capital Markets Research said: “Prices outside of London in the UK only began to show clear signs of recovery at the beginning of 2014, having fallen by close to 50 per cent from their peak in 2007. As a result prices are still 25 per cent below their peak and back at 2004 levels.”Central London also performed strongly, up 23 per cent year-on-year. However, Almond said the rate of growth was beginning to cool. Prices in London rose by just five per cent in the fourth quarter compared with eight per cent in the third quarter.“The cooling comes as no surprise as prices in London are now 20 per cent above their previous peak in 2007,” Almond added.
London's West End is the world's most expensive office market for the third consecutive year, retaining its title ahead of runner-up Hong Kong, according to research published today in Cushman & Wakefield's annual Office Space Across the World global rankings.
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