West End market picks up with £1bn of deals under offer

More than £1bn of deals are under offer in the West End as the market improves. Savills said five West End deals in July, totalling more than £100m, had taken turnover to £1.92bn, with 58 transactions so far this year. The research also showed £4.1bn of available stock across 87 opportunities, the highest volume this year to date. Savills said it was tracking more than £1bn under offer, of which 42% by volume represented deals agreed within the past two months. It added that it was tracking eight bid processes called in July, including 125 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (pictured), and 60 Great Portland Street, W1. Both are expected to provide strong bellwethers of market sentiment for value-add and core-plus opportunities of scale, respectively. Stephen Down, chair of central London and international investment for Savills, said: “Although we have seen a decline in activity this year against the current economic backdrop, it is encouraging to see large trades taking place and a healthy pipeline of activity for the remainder of the year, showing signs of the West End market picking back up.” Half of that volume is taken up by the 10 largest sales, suggesting there is greater willingness to “market test” assets than earlier in the year. The largest trade was Liberty House, 76 & 80 Hammersmith Road, W6, which was acquired for £48m by McAleer & Rushe (MRP). The freehold interest in this 1.4-acre site contains two office buildings comprising 89,874 sq ft. Both buildings were provided with full vacant possession upon completion. Down added: “So far the buyer audience has included investors from across the globe, including unlevered, cash-rich family offices, plus funds from the US and Europe, all seeking core product and where predominantly the “sweet spot” for purchases is between £50m and £100m.” To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews See which agents are doing the most deals in the London submarkets with our On-Demand Rankings >> Image © CBRE