According to the latest research from CBRE Scotland, investment in Scottish property in the third quarter of 2018 reached £318.4m, with office property accounting for the largest share.
The total figure was achieved across 35 transactions, with offices accounting for 29% of the total (£93.71m), 20% on industrial property (£63.8m) and 23% on retail deals (£72.16m). A further £60.4m (19%) was invested in the leisure sector, albeit the majority (£52m) is accounted for in Fattal Properties’ acquisition of 43 Jeffrey Street and an adjacent development site in Edinburgh, with an additional £29.10m (9%) invested in the increasingly popular alternatives sector.
The largest investment deal of the quarter was Pontegadea’s off-market acquisition of 78-90 Buchanan Street in Glasgow, which was purchased for £31m. CBRE acted on behalf of the vendor Lothbury IM. The major office deals of the quarter were M&G’s acquisition of 40 Torphichen Street in Edinburgh from Triuva for £22.15m and KanAm’s acquisition of Greenside in Edinburgh for £17.52m from the Chris Stewart Group. CBRE advised KanAm in the transaction.
The year-to-date investment in Scotland totals £1.51bn, which is a rise on the five-year average for this point in the year (£1.26bn). By the end of the year the total is expected to reach over £2bn which shows an ever increasing appetite for Scotland-based property assets.
Camille Casey, associate director at CBRE Scotland, commented: “The appetite for quality Scottish investment opportunities continued to gather momentum in the third quarter, with an increasing number of UK institutional funds and overseas based investors seeking to invest here. Any concerns around Brexit appear to have had little impact on investor demand and in recent months we have witnessed improved investor sentiment across the office, industrial and alternative sectors, primarily due to the yield discount on offer relative to London and our regional counterparts. We expect a strong Q4 finish to what has already been a strong year for Scottish investment volumes.”