West End Q4 investment hits six-year high
London’s West End enjoyed a flurry of deals in the final months of 2020, with more final-quarter investment than in any year since 2014, according to research from Savills.
Transactions in the last three months of the year came to nearly £2.9bn, putting it 38% above the five-year average for the Q4 period.
The surge in investment meant that 2020 volumes were only 9% down on the previous full year, despite a near standstill in the market following the coronavirus outbreak.
London’s West End enjoyed a flurry of deals in the final months of 2020, with more final-quarter investment than in any year since 2014, according to research from Savills.
Transactions in the last three months of the year came to nearly £2.9bn, putting it 38% above the five-year average for the Q4 period.
The surge in investment meant that 2020 volumes were only 9% down on the previous full year, despite a near standstill in the market following the coronavirus outbreak.
December alone accounted for almost £1.2bn worth of deals and made up nearly a quarter of total investment in the West End for the year.
This was driven by key deals including British Land’s disposal of a 75% stake in three buildings (66 and 45 Seymour Street, and 10 Portman Square, W1) to Allianz Real Estate for £410m.
Stephen Down, head of central London investment at Savills, said European investors accounted for 30% of West End volumes last year, followed by Asian capital at 28%, and UK buyers at 22%.
Down said: “The scale of uplift seen in Q4, particularly in December, shows the scale of the pent-up demand for London assets and should hopefully be repeated once the current lockdown ends, boding well for the middle and later parts of 2021.
“Given the underlying strengths of the market are now coupled with news of a vaccine and certainty of a Brexit trade deal, we anticipate further activity by international buyers throughout 2021.”
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