European commercial real estate investment hit a record €286bn (£253bn) in 2017 – up 9.3% on 2016, according to CBRE.
UK investment volumes were up 11.6% to €72bn (£64bn), driven by the sales of both the Walkie Talkie and the Cheesegrater buildings.
Germany was similarly active with investment up 8.4% to €57bn – almost one-third of that in the fourth quarter.
It was the fifth time since 2006 that German investment volumes surpassed the €50bn mark.
Platform deals and corporate acquisitions contributed significantly to total investment. These included the €12.3bn sale of Logicor to China Investment Corporation and the €2.4bn sale of IDI Gazeley to Global Logistics Properties – both major industrial and logistics deals.
Total industrial investment reached a record €42.5bn – a 67% increase on 2016 and a 78.9% increase on 2015.
Jonathan Hull, managing director of CBRE’s EMEA investment properties, said: “2017 proved to be a record year for real estate investment driven largely by notable corporate platform transactions.
“There is certainly a scarcity of prime product across the major capital cities within Europe, which has driven yields to record lows.
“Capital glows towards the real estate sector remain strong, as real estate has retained its competitive advantage against many other asset classes.”
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