Business people from across Nottinghamshire met this week to discuss the findings of the UK Investment Transactions report (UKIT) from national commercial property consultant Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).
The event, which was held at Harts Hotel and Restaurant in the city centre saw Adam Ramshaw, head of the Midlands region at LSH present key information from the report to delegates from a range of businesses across the region.
Among its findings, the report showed that investment in commercial property across the East Midlands totalled £1.10bn in 2015 – down from £1.9bn the previous year. However, despite this fall, performance for the year was just 1% down on the five-year average and 3% up on the 10-year average for the region.
Across the East Midlands, industrial transactions stood at £467 million (43%), while retail accounted for almost 36% of transactions with £389 million of acquisitions.
The office sector accounted for 4% of the total volume invested at £48 million, while £191 million worth of transactions were recorded in other sectors.
Speaking after the event, Adam Ramshaw said: “Events like these are a great way for us to get together with key business people in the local market to update them on what’s happening in the commercial property sector and to discuss what trends we might see in the coming months and years. So it’s always good to see a packed room of delegates.
“Although investment in the region has fallen in 2015 and Q4 transaction figures for the East Midlands fell to £0.08bn from £0.3bn in Q3, the overall picture for the region remains positive.”
The UKIT report reveals a record-breaking UK performance in 2015, with investment in commercial property totalling £64.3bn.
Buoyant demand for alternative assets – such as hotels, student accommodation and healthcare – was a key driver of activity during 2015, with investment increasing to £14.8bn over the year, 53% above 2014’s total.
Overseas investors were instrumental to the record year. Inflows from foreign buyers rose by 9% year-on-year and accounted for a record 50% share of total UK volume. North America was the dominant buyer, making up 46% of overseas investment.
