Investment in Bristol commercial property increased 47 per cent in 2018, compared to the previous year.
Investors, both domestic and from overseas, acquired commercial properties to the value of £975m in 2018 versus £663m in 2017 according to latest research – a near 50 per cent increase.
Datscha, the proptech platform which shows ultimate ownership of commercial properties, revealed the data in their transactions module which indicates deals worth more than £3million each – those deemed of economic significance to the market. Datscha has further been able to corroborate its research by uncovering portfolio deals matched with latest Land Registry data – using the period from January 2017 to September 2017 against the same period in 2018.
Global versus local investors – and the largest single deal
UK investors increased their interest in Bristol from £465 million in 2017 to £585 million in 2018, with the largest total foreign investment coming from Saudi Arabia at £35 million (this includes Sidra Capital’s £32m purchase of The Hub at Aztec Business Park from a fund managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments), trailed by the USA – the previous largest foreign investor in 2017 (one of the largest deals last year was Columbia Threadneedle’s £21m purchase of the Prudential building in Wine Street.)
Lesley Males, Datscha’s Head of Research, commented: “Bristol has performed well as a regional city over the past 12 months. With great transport links to the rest of the UK and strengths in many key growth sectors, including aerospace, creative industries and digital technology, demand for commercial property investment in the region should continue. “
“Our research matches every asset within the portfolio to its correct title deed which reveals, with accuracy, the properties that are being transacted regionally – as opposed to providing a top line summary of the whole portfolio in isolation. Examples of significant portfolio deals include the £750m Ribbon Hotel portfolio to Vision Capital partners and the £150m Helical Magnus Industrial portfolio which both featured properties within Bristol.”