Investment in central London offices has topped £7bn in the first half of 2012, a leap of 66% on the previous year.
Figures from DTZ show that £7.3bn of offices had been transacted in the first half of the year, up from £4.4bn in the first half of 2011.
An average of £9bn of central London offices has been bought and sold each year since 2008.
DTZ senior director and head of inward investment Ben Cook said: “At the present rate, we could see total transactions for 2012 comfortably in excess of £10bn, and with an equally strong run-in from September to Christmas, it is possible that total volumes for the year could be over £12bn, a level not exceeded in London since the peak of the liquidity boom in 2007.”
Overseas investors accounted for 75% of all deals, up from 57% last year and higher than the long-term average of 52%.
Asia Pacific and North American buyers were the most active, accounting for 20% and 16% of all deals respectively.
European buyers, excluding those from Germany, increased their purchasing activity by 75%, and now account for 15% of all transactions.
Buyers from the Middle East accounted for 15% of purchases, with multinational syndicates accounting for 14%.
German buyers accounted for 8% of transactions, largely led by DEKA’s recent purchasing activity.
Lot size liquidity has also increased over the past 6 months. The average size transacted has jumped from £42m in H1 2011 to £60m in H1 2012.
The City accounted for just over half of all activity with £3.7bn invested, the West End £163bn and Midtown £872m.
jack.sidders@estatesgazette.com
