London considered as ‘hot’ for property investment in next five years

  Sentiment was upbeat at the ‘London – hot or not’ conference, hosted by law firm Nabarro this morning.   In a pre-conference survey conducted in July amongst the 180 property company, asset manager, investor and banking delegates, 75% of respondents categorised London as either ‘hot’ or ‘warm’ for investment and 93% think that there is still money to be made from London real estate in the next five years.   However, the path is unlikely to be smooth, with 47% of respondents suggesting that it will be a long time before the economy recovers from recession and 44% expecting London to return to 2006/7 levels only in 2015. A further 33% suggested 2018.   The city perceived as posing the main threat to investment in London is Shanghai; a view which was supported by keynote speaker, Andrew Marr, who described Shanghai as a “globalised city” with a transport system to “make London think again”.   He noted the speed with which Shanghai acts on building major infrastructure – including the world’s largest underground system – but felt that it had failed to preserve its old buildings and had instead created a ‘monochrome’ city full of tall high-rise buildings.   Marr went on to suggest that London’s ability to mix a range of buildings with different aesthetics ultimately gave it the edge over its Asian counterpart and that London will be more desirable to live in longer term.   London will, however, need to balance its sense of preservation with Shanghai’s sense of ruthlessness in respect of major infrastructure projects if it is to succeed.   sarah.jackman@estatesgazette.com   To access all EGi news stories and commercial property data sign up for a free trial today, or visit the subscription options page to find out more.