India’s economy is booming and it is looking to forge stronger trade links with Europe. Here we look at the country’s European real estate investments and find that the UK is by far the biggest beneficiary
Indian investment into the UK has come under scrutiny after conglomerate Tata put its UK steel industry business up for sale. However, last week’s visit by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to Brussels saw increasing trade and investment between India and the European Union put at the top of the agenda.
Over the past decade, Indian investment into the European property industry has been relatively low, according to CBRE data, and concentrated in London and the UK. Just €1.6bn (£1.3bn) has been invested since 2006.
Excluding European investors, this makes Indian investors the 18th most active by nationality in the past 10 years. But the country is becoming an economic powerhouse, growing at 7.4% pa, so with Modi keen for businesses to diversify outside of India, the tide could slowly start to turn.
The most active Indian investor in the UK
Marylebone Asset Management, previously known as Meghraj Properties, has a £750m UK portfolio and is the only Indian buyer to have undertaken a large number of real estate transactions in Europe over the past decade, according to CBRE.
Based on Welbeck Street, W1, it mainly invests on behalf of clients of Indian heritage. Its Indian business merged with JLL in 2007, which is today the largest real estate adviser in India.
