Surge in property investment deals
THE value of North West commercial property investment deals in the second quarter was up 38% on the start of the year.
According to research from Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) sales worth £292.46m completed during the period, up from £211.4m in the first quarter.
The figure is just over double the £142m of deals that completed in the second quarter last year.
Activity was dominated by Crown Estate’s acquisition of The Coliseum Shopping Park at Ellesmere Port for £81m from Schroders. This accounted for 28% of total investment activity.
Other key deals included Oaktree Capital Management and Moorfield’s acquisition of 100 Barbirolli Square, Manchester for £41m; LaSalle Investment Management’s acquisition of the shopping centre at Church Square, St Helens for £27.73m and Canada Life Assurance’s acquisition of Grand Central, Stockport for £22m.
Abid Jaffry, director and regional head of capital markets at LSH, said: “The number of key transactions completed in Q2 2013 highlights the growing appetite for investment in the region. The major investors within the North West were UK buyers, accounting for 93% of the quarterly total, as they seek value away from the ultra competitive central London market. However, there is still the problem of a lack of prime stock to satisfy the growing number of requirements.”
The office sector which accounted for 68% of the total market in Q1 2013 dropped to 34% in Q2 at £99.6m, and the industrial sector remained steady, accounting for 12% of the Q2 market at £35.79m.
