INVESTMENT in Scotland’s commercial property sector was in the first nine months of 2019 down 12 per cent on a year earlier, as Brexit weighed, but this fall was much less steep than a 26% drop UK-wide.
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Publishing its latest survey, real estate services and investment management company Colliers International declared the Scottish commercial property market is “weathering the Brexit storm far better than its counterpart south of the Border”. It noted this outperformance was occurring “despite a greater reliance on overseas investors”. Colliers noted overseas investors accounted for around 55% of investment in commercial property in Scotland, well above the 43% figure for the UK as a whole.
Douglas McPhail, head of Colliers in Scotland, flagged the likelihood that investment in Scottish commercial property would in 2019 exceed £2 billion for the sixth year running.
He noted investment in Scottish commercial property had hit a one-and-a-half year high of £717 million in the third quarter, having totalled £347m in the opening three months of this year and £619m in the April to June period.
Mr McPhail added: “Although investment volumes during the first nine months of the year are down by 12% compared to the same period in 2018, it is very likely that activity will break through the £2bn mark for the sixth year running.”
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He noted the proportion of international money flowing into Scottish property had risen in the third quarter, to around 60%, “with particularly strong interest from Middle Eastern and US investors”. Mr McPhail noted Middle Eastern and US players accounted for £182m and £160m of investment respectively in the third quarter.
Glasgow attracted £278m of capital in the third quarter. Edinburgh attracted £226m. Patrick Ford, director of capital markets at Colliers in Glasgow, noted the largest deal of the quarter had been Hines Global Income Trust’s £72m purchase of the “true Glasgow West End” student accommodation.
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