LREF 2016: There is still plenty of money set to come from Asia, according to Rasheed Hassan, director of cross-border investment at Savills.
Speaking at the Asia conference at the London Real Estate Forum, he said: “Is Asia here to stay? I really hope so. The market is changing and the landscape and the players are changing but there is ultimately a huge amount of money to come out. We get daily enquiries from big players and small players looking to come into London and these guys are becoming repeated investors and well-known names.”
But Hassan added that he did not see London as vulnerable to an emerging market crash.
“I would not say that much of Asia is an emerging market. We are down to half of what they were, but it you look at the volume of capital that sits there, I don’t think that volume of money will disappear.
“Black swan events globally are an advantage, London and New York are still on top of the shopping list.”
Lily Lin of Vanke UK agreed. “It is always about risk adjustment and returns. Cities like Shanghai are extremely expensive to buy in and there is that story of diversification. When you have a home market and you have a lot of cash in your balance sheet you start putting your money in different pockets,” she said.
Panellists agreed that while the political climate closer to home presented an issue, many investors remained unfazed by Brexit concerns.
Hassan said: “We are completing six acquisitions, four from Asia and two from the Middle East, and if they are buying now, there is no reason that they will not buy in two weeks’ time.
“There is this view when we talk to Asian investors in particular that they can’t believe we will vote out. If anything, individuals are more able to invest as they are not answerable to boards and investment committees.”
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