MAPIC 2015: Overseas investment in UK shopping centres has risen by nearly 50% in the year to the end of September, with foreign investors signing deals nearly double the size of their UK counterparts.
Foreign cash accounted for one-fifth of all sales, an average of £80m per deal, according to figures from EGi’s Retail Research. It has been the busiest year since 2011 in terms of the number of deals transacted, but the overall amount invested slipped by 6% to £4.2bn following a bumper year last year.
European investors accounted for half of all deals, with Asia (26%) and North America (21%) making up the top three.
The largest portfolio purchase was made by New Frontier Properties for two assets topping £179m. Chinese firm Ginko Tree contributed the largest single deal – £190m for the Bentall Centre, London.
Total foreign investment in UK shopping centres has topped £4bn over the past five years, in 30 deals, with the cash spent peaking at £1.2bn in 2013.
Scotland saw the biggest wave of investment this year, with more than £204m spent on three schemes – the Eastgate Centre in Inverness, Motherwell Shopping Centre and the Sauchiehall Centre in Glasgow. These deals make up 37.5% of the grand total, even beating London (34.7%).
Over a five-year period, London remains the most prosperous area for shopping centre investment, with 37.5%, or £1.44bn, of the grand total, followed by Yorkshire and the South East. The South West and North West were the least popular regions.
North American and European money made up three-quarters of overseas investment over the five-year period, contributing £3.26bn. Australian and Asian purchases were in third and fourth place on 12% and 10%, respectively, totalling just under £1bn.
See also:
• Foreign investors: Centres of attention
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