Almost a third of all commercial property transactions worldwide are made by wealthy individuals rather than businesses, with Britain the top destination for international buyers, according to Knight Frank.
Institutional investors — pension funds and insurers that traditionally invest in commercial property — are selling to and bidding against wealthy families, the estate agency found, as people increasingly invest in offices and logistics centres to avoid the volatility of stock markets.
About $289bn of private money was invested in commercial property in the year to last October, 31% of the total worldwide.
