Savills sees ‘signs of improvement’ in West End investment

Savills has predicted that the bottom of the market is near for real estate in London’s West End. The agency recorded 25 deals for a combined £1.02bn during the first three months of the year. That compares with 12 transactions and £675m in the same period a year ago, but is still below the five-year average for both volume and number of deals. The firm said “signs of improvement” are now apparent, and it expects private equity buyers to be a driver of deals in the coming months. Paul Cockburn, director in the central London investment team, said: “It feels like it has been a long quarter, but liquidity is improving and turnover data is on the up, albeit off a low base. There have been other micro-signals of the mood turning. We are seeing more buyer enquiries and some vendors are taking more aggressive positions on sales. Some values are still at risk, but with greater clarity on pricing coming through, we could be close to the market bottoming out, especially for better-quality options.” Compare and explore the West End market >> Photo © Igor Savelev/Unsplash