Overseas investment tops £94bn in UK commercial property

The value of portfolios held by overseas owners has more than doubled (129%) over the last decade to £94bn, and particularly in 2013 when sovereign wealth funds were particularly active. 

The increase means that overseas investors now own almost one quarter (24%) of all commercial property investment in the UK, the Property Data Report 2014 revealed, with three-quarters of this investment in London.

By contrast the total owned by UK institutions fell by 16% over the decade to £75bn, representing just under one-fifth (19%) of the £385bn invested in commercial buildings. 

Sir Robert Finch, Chairman of the Property Industry Alliance, said:

"The annual Property Data Report is an invaluable resource which sets out clearly key facts about commercial property and shows the crucial role it plays in the UK’s economy. Aside from its contribution to the economy, which the report shows to be sizeable, the commercial property industry is also a platform for virtually all the country’s other major industries and a significant contributor to the financing of retirement. Its attractiveness to investors from both the UK and overseas is therefore to be welcomed."