Commercial property sales in the West End look set to hit £7.5 billion by the end of 2018, delivering a near 10 per cent year-on-year rise.
Real estate advisors Savills reported £172 million was traded across 10 transactions in November with about £1.3 billion of assets currently exchanging in December or under offer.
Hefty transactions
Seven transactions of more than £250 million, totalling £2.47 billion, occurred in the market in 2018.
These deal lots have accounted for 38 per cent of total investments with three further sales of more than quarter of billion, totalling almost £800 million, expected by the end of the year.
Savills Head of West End Investment, Paul Cockburn said: “This feels like a surprise given the current mood but again reflects the enduring appeal of well-located real estate and the robust leasing market.”
He added: “The property business is still pretty positive. There’s a lot of activity out there and there are people still keen to do business.”
So far this year £6.47 billion of assets have been sold with seven transactions of more than £250 million.
Commercial property sales finance demand
Commercial finance broker Hank Zarihs Associates chief executive, Shiraz Khan said: “These figures show that when it comes offices and retail space London is still performing well with a strong appetite for commercial finance to fund some of these bumper transactions.” HZA is always ready for serving real estate developers with the right loan featuring high returns.
However, the final £7.5 billion estimate of sales in 2018 is 27 per cent lower than 2014 when sales reached a record £9 billion.
Offices generally make up three quarters of the assets with retail space accounting for the remaining quarter. The West End comprises Hammersmith up to Kings Cross, mid down and down to the river Thames.