Now that the majority of 2013's investment transactions have been recorded we've crunched the data - and found out just how strong a year it was. These are the numbers you 'need to know'.
Driven by a number of large deals, investment activity has made a striking return to 2007 levels, marking another significant milestone in the UK's commercial property recovery. The following are some of the highlights of our analysis:
- £53.4bn was invested in commercial property in 2013, a 60% increase on the £33.5bn in the year before, and the highest annual total since 2007's £54.4bn.
- The final quarter of 2013 saw £21.0bn of deals, the highest quarterly total this century, beating the £19.4bn recorded in Q4 2006.
- Overseas investors accounted for 44% of the 2013 total. UK institutional funds made 25% of purchases by value, up from 20% in 2012.
- Far Eastern investors were the dominant overseas type, making 14% of all deals. US and Middle Eastern investors each accounted for 8% of the total.
- The largest share of 2013's total was taken by the office sector, with 45% of the market, a slight decrease on 2012.
- The biggest rise in share was in the leisure sector, up 150% on 2012 with £3.7bn invested in total.
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