London’s success as an investment hub for overseas money has “arguably been to the detriment of the rest of the UK”, delegates heard at the EG Middle East Forum in Abu Dhabi this week.
Jackie Sadek, chief executive of UK Regeneration and chairwoman of the Constellation Partnership, said that London was ” a great problem to have” but argued that overseas investors should look beyond the UK capital for investment opportunities.
She said: “London is a very compelling offer. It has been punching above its weight for 30 or 40 years, arguably to the detriment of the rest of the UK. But it’s a problem other countries would kill for. It’s a great gateway to other cities.”
Sir Edward Lister, special advisor to the UK DiT, chairman of the Homes & Communities Agency and former deputy mayor of London, added that overseas investors should consider the returns in regional cities compared to London.
“Now has never been a better time to invest in the UK and we are absolutely looking for overseas investment,” he said.
“We get that as a first foray you will look to London as it’s an easy market to understand. But when your look at yield and price points, you are getting much better yields out of London.”
In terms of alternative cities currently being targeted, Steve Morgan, senior partner at Cluttons, said that Manchester still topped the list among Middle Eastern investors.
He said: “Manchester is the obvious one. Birmingham is equally as important, but Manchester is at forefront because of the links to the football club.”
Pete Gladwell, head of public sector partnerships at Legal & General Investment Management, added that the UK is becoming increasingly “multi-polar” and Simon Marshall, joint chief executive of Scarborough International Properties, made the point that Scarborough is the location of the biggest spec office development outside of London and funded by Singaporean money – proof that overseas investors are already looking outside the UK capital for real estate opportunities.
Click here to watch the Periscope of EG’s Middle East Real Estate Forum.
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