UK a challenging place to invest, says Axa

EXPO REAL 2016: The UK has become a “challenging” place to invest, according to Anne Kavanagh, Axa IM – Real Assets’ global head of asset management and transactions. Political uncertainty following the EU referendum has made the country less attractive to invest in, she said at Expo Real in Munich. “Investing in the UK is quite challenging at the moment because there was obviously referendum and that has brought a lot of uncertainty and that has to be factored. Any global investor is looking at investments on a relative basis,” she said. “When we look at the pricing in the UK we are comparing that to other markets. We are still open for business in the UK though and uncertainty brings opportunity. We are still looking and if we see value we will invest.” Axa and its co-investors Temasek, PSP and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, are currently in discussions over whether or not to press ahead with the development of 62-storey City tower 22 Bishopsgate, EC2, following the result of the referendum and the cooling of the market. A decision will be made before the end of the year at the latest.   “We are continuing to work on the site and as with any of our development projects we are evaluating our options and will make a decision and recommendations in due course,” Kavanagh said.    • To send feedback, e-mail david.hatcher@estatesgazette.com or tweet @hatcherdavid or @estatesgazette