The Capital Markets team at CBRE Manchester announces a record year of deals, having advised clients on over £1 billion of commercial real estate investment transactions in the last 12 months.
The Manchester team concluded more than 40 individual transactions ranging from less than
£1 million to over £100 million across a diverse range of sectors, including office, logistics, retail, leisure and healthcare, demonstrating their depth of expertise and market coverage in the North West and beyond. In Manchester City Centre alone, the team completed 12 major transactions totalling almost £600 million, representing a 68 per cent market share by volume.
Disposal highlights for the team include the sale of the iconic Royal Liver Building, for the first time in its history, on behalf of Royal London for £48 million and the sale of Soapworks in Salford Quays on behalf of the Carlyle Group for £60 million.
Significant acquisitions during the record year included advising M&G Real Estate on both the purchase of 101 Embankment for £104.25 million and the forward funding of Riverside, Rochdale – the Town’s new retail led, mixed-use development. The team also advised Royal London on the purchase of 3 Hardman Square for £107.25 million.
Colin Thomasson, Executive Director and Head of Capital Markets at CBRE in Manchester, commented;
“Our region continues to set itself apart with its strong and dynamic economy, excellent infrastructure, world class education establishments and a growing global reputation for innovation and creativity. As we move through 2018, we are excited by the opportunities ahead particularly in relation to several key development projects we are retained on, including Airport City, First Street and the new waterfront stadium for Everton Football Club.”
CBRE’s H2 2017 Manchester Office Marketview highlighted how investment activity sky rocketed in the last half of last year with over £629m transacted, propelling office investment volumes for the full year to £905.6m in 23 transactions. The report states that the Manchester office market remains buoyant, driven by the underlying strength of the occupational market and macro Manchester economy.
CBRE’s findings show that key players remain institutional (both UK & overseas) targeting core assets, along with a number of other UK and international funds specifically targeting assets requiring more active asset management through either development or refurbishment. Some of the largest investment transactions, whilst fronted by UK institutions have utilised third party overseas equity investment such as the transactions at 1 Spinningfields and 101 Embankment, although UK funds are targeting larger lot sizes with their own equity as evidenced by Royal London’s acquisition of 3 Hardman Square.
