£3.7bn of retail deals in first half of 2010
Published: 07 July, 2010
Investment in UK retail property reached £3.7bn in the first six months of 2010, according to CBRE
Activity in the sector between January and June 2010 was up 15 per cent year-on-year, according to new research from CBRE and Property Data.
UK shopping centre investment saw strong activity with turnover reaching £1.1bn. The increase has been powered by more than 20 transactions, compared to the 24 transactions completed in 2009 as a whole.
The largest UK shopping centre investment transaction in H1 2010 was Meyer Bergman’s purchase of a 50 per cent stake in The Bentall Shopping Centre in Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey, for around £130m.
Bruce Nutman, executive director, UK retail capital markets at CBRE said: “We are currently witnessing growing interest from international investors who are actively looking to invest in quality retail property investments in the UK. This is particularly the case with sovereign wealth funds, as well as other overseas investors, who have recently been very active in Central London.
“However, while demand remains strong, buyers now face limited opportunities in the market and are carefully reviewing the pricing and quality of existing opportunities. The supply/demand imbalance may help prices, but overall we expect prices to plateau or soften as the year progresses.”
