London’s soaring prices are benefiting the North of England as investment levels soar and traditional buyers take a bigger slice of the market
Institutions will further cement their dominance as the main investors in the North of England this year, with Savills predicting that transaction volumes by them will exceed £3bn, up from £2.7bn in 2014.
UK funds are being forced to the regions as tightening yields in London price them out of the capital. Of the £5.1bn invested in the North last year, institutions accounted for 44.3% of it. This compares with 32.4% of the £3.8bn invested in the region in 2013.
Nick Okell, associate director of investment in Savills’ Manchester office, said: “Last year saw UK funds remain a dominant force, particularly in Manchester’s city centre office market, where they were responsible for 80% of the £1bn of investment transactions.
“We expect this trend to continue, although competition from overseas investors is likely to intensify as the recovery throughout the Northern region becomes more established.”
Overseas investors accounted for 22.2% of investment in the North in 2014, up from 18.2% a year earlier.
Total: £3.8bn
Total: £5.1bn
Source: Savills
samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com
