North American investors account for the most widespread commercial property buyers across the UK in 2018 to date.
Latest analysis of commercial property transactions over £3million (of considerable economic impact) in Q1 and Q2, saw North American buyers acquire diversified properties in all corners of the UK, rather than just in the capital.
According to Datscha, the proptech platform which shows ultimate ownership of commercial properties, Asian buyers (China, Hong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea) account for a total of £4.3 bn investment while North American investors (The USA and Canada) have purchased properties worth £3 bn, nationwide. North America outranks Asia in terms of investment levels in every region of the UK except London and Scotland.
Lesley Males, Head of Research at Datscha who recently launched their Transactions Module, which contains the most up to date deals, matched up to ultimate owners commented: “The significance of this trend is that North American investors have a diversified interest in UK commercial properties, from offices, development land to student accommodation. Although Asian investors might rank highest in terms of total investment for the UK, those figures are skewered by their interest in the City of London on a number of expensive trophy buildings such as the £1bn sale of 5 Broadgate to CK Asset Holdings and the £650m sale of Ropemaker Place to Ho Bee Land.”
| By Geography | ||
| Region | North America | Asia |
| East Midlands | 4.3% | 1.2% |
| Eastern | 9.3% | 0.8% |
| London | 33.4% | 88.8% |
| North East | 2.8% | 0.0% |
| North West | 13.6% | 0.6% |
| Scotland | 3.1% | 6.5% |
| South East | 4.6% | 0.2% |
| South West | 6.2% | 0.0% |
| Wales | 5.0% | 0.0% |
| West Midlands | 8.6% | 0.4% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 9.2% | 1.5% |
| By Property Type | ||
| Property Type | North America | Asia |
| Development Land | 4.8% | 0.1% |
| Hotel | 0.2% | 1.6% |
| Industrial | 25.5% | 4.8% |
| Office | 33.3% | 78.7% |
| Residential | 26.1% | 1.0% |
| Retail | 9.7% | 5.6% |
| Specialist Property | 0.4% | 8.3% |
Datscha helps agents, investors and developers source and validate new opportunities, though its world class proptech platform. This could be targeting off-market opportunities, or have access to valuable information on the property and the surrounding areas. Datscha, used by leading media organisations around the world for its detailed insight, captures all the key information required to uncover ownership, ultimate owner, size, rateable values, companies portfolio, company structure – and most recently provides planning and transactions info.
Since its UK launch in 2016, the company has attracted clients from across the industry. Clients such as CBRE, Savills, Daniel Watney, NCP Car Parks and many more.
