London’s position as a world-leading smart city hinges in part on the swathes of investment pumped into its real estate each year.
Intelligent cities are not always global economic powerhouses with strong investment markets and a safe haven status – but it helps.
This glimpse at each of the UK capital’s main districts gives an insight into exactly where funds – both domestic and overseas – are being channelled once they hit the London property market.
The figures, for Q2 2016 to Q1 2017, show not only investment by region, but also a number of hotspots defined by investor nationality.
While some areas such as Docklands and South Bank clearly attract a particular type of investor – those from China, Hong Kong and the US in the first instance and those from Europe and the US in the latter – more central markets such as the West End and the City continue to attract more of a mix of capital.
The overarching trend shows that risk-adverse investors, particularly those from markets with less experience investing in London – such as south America and Oceania – have yet to venture too far from the traditionally popular areas of west and central London.
But with emerging occupier trends such as Apple’s move to Battersea Power Station and a shifting focus towards the City fringe, it will be interesting to see how long this continues.
