The UK was the third most liquid European commercial property market in 2012, according to new research by DTZ. Turning over 6.4 per cent of its invested stock, the UK was trumped by Norway at 7.6 per cent and Sweden at 9.2 per cent.
When it came to investment from outside of Europe, or on an inter-regional base, the UK was actually the most liquid market, with buyers nabbing 2.4 per cent of the invested stock available in the UK. The research further revealed that around £8.5 billion of the UK investment from buyers outside of Europe, which accounted for two-thirds of the total bound stock, was located in central London. These sales actually represented 37 per cent of all inter-region activity in Europe.
Ben Cook, head of UK inward investment at DTZ said: “The UK, and in particular central London, is one of the top markets globally for foreign investors. Over the past ten years investors from no less than 40 countries outside of Europe have invested in the UK, double any other European market. In 2012, overseas investors accounted for 71 per cent of all commercial deals in central London – almost £10 billion of the £14 billion transacted.”
Other countries that made the top ten included Germany at fifth (5.2 per cent), Ukraine at seventh (3.9 per cent) and France rounding up at tenth (three per cent), even though France actually has the second largest invested stock in the whole of Europe.
Sweden topped the list, which surprised analysts, due to it having the eighth largest market in Europe and being only a sixth of the size of the UK’s stock. However, investment has boomed in Sweden and generally in the wider Nordic region in recent years, making the area a safe haven for potential investors.