Yorkshire property investment loiters behind rest of UK
COMMERCIAL property investment in the region in the first quarter of the year has fallen according to Lambert Smith Hampton, lagging behind the rest of the UK.
This is down to a lack of stock coming onto the market as well as uncertainty over the General Election in the opening months of 2015.
LSH report UK Investment Transactions showed that the amount invested in the region fell 21% compared with last year, despite there being more deals in the first three months of the year, 39 compared to 34 in 2014.
This is down to the fact that the average deal size was “significantly” smaller, now coming in at £10.6m in contrast with £13.7m last year.
Retail and leisure saw the biggest increase in share, amounting to 42.5% of the total invested.
Major deals in the region included the acquisition of the £68.4m Doncaster warehouse for retailer Next, British Land’s acquisition of the £58m Kingswood Retail Park in Hull and The Mint in Leeds sale to Patron Capital Partners for £30.3m.
In the UK as a whole, investment rose to £19.1bn, a trend followed by other regions including the North West, which saw a 352% increase in the same period.
Bill Lynn, director of agency at LSH in Yorkshire and the North East, said: “While overall deal volume may have dipped in the first quarter, the commercial property sector in Yorkshire and the Humber remains incredibly buoyant.
“Demand for all classes of commercial property remains strong and this is driving a new wave of development that is likely to stimulate the investment market in the latter half of 2015 and beyond.
“It is also certainly true that investors don’t like uncertainty so a speedy resolution to any coalition negotiations that may follow the General Election is also likely to have a positive impact on the market.”
