Central London property investment highest since Q3 2007

In Q3 2013, Central London investment volume rose to the highest level since Q3 2007 at £5.1bn, according to new research by BNP Paribas Real Estate, the leading property adviser.

When analysing the London submarkets in further detail, investment into West End offices rose an impressive 120% in Q3 2013 to £2.1bn compared to the second quarter of this year, investment into City offices in Q3 2013 rose by 28% to £1.9bn compared to Q2 2013 and investment into Midtown offices rose 108% to £764m compared to the second quarter of this year.

BNP Paribas Real Estate’s head of City investment, Richard Garside, said: “London is recognised as one of the largest and most dynamic cities in the world. It offers a wide range of investment opportunities across various submarkets providing smaller lot sizes to landmark investments. This helps attract the diverse mix of both domestic and international investors.”

BNP Paribas Real Estate’s director of West End investment, Tim Hugill, added: “The re-emergence of UK Institutions along with overseas investor appetite has meant very competitive bidding on assets of all sectors and lot sizes. We have also seen a significant uptick in off market transactions with an increasing proportion of 2013 deals falling into this category.”