Commercial property purchases by investors hit a nine-year high

There has been a sharp increase in the number of commercial property acquisition by investors despite the ongoing political and economic uncertainty, fuelled in part by a flood of foreign investors taking advantage of the devaluation of the pound in the wake of last year’s Brexit vote.

Fresh analysis of HMRC’s latest UK property transactions count for the year ending April 30 2017 by Lendy, the peer to peer secured lending platform, reveals that purchases by investors hit a nine-year high of 127,280 in 2016/17, up 6% from 119,920 in 2015/16.

The significant rise in commercial property transactions demonstrates the continuing attractiveness of UK commercial property to both domestic and overseas investors, as the market is arguably the most liquid in Europe, with a number of attractive features, such as upward only rent reviews and long leases, that are absent in other overseas commercial property markets.

Lendy point out that commercial properties in the UK usually have longer leases than those in Europe – leases on commercial property are usually at least five years – providing investors with more settled returns over a long period and offering the chance of lower void periods.

Liam Brooke, co-founder of Lendy Ltd, commented: “The attractiveness of the UK property market for overseas investors has continued, shrugging off the threat of a crash in sales after Brexit.”

“The number of commercial property sales has risen significantly, reflecting how the fall in the value of sterling has provided investors with a window of opportunity to make the most of the booming property market.”

“Considering all the fears around Brexit it is a strong showing and illustrates that investor confidence is resilient.”