London property market attracts Qatari investors
Date:
Tuesday 22nd June 2010
Just one week after Jones Lang LaSalle published a report tipping Qatar, "a new global powerhouse", to rank as the number one global overseas investor in 2010, Land Securities has announced that it is selling one of its largest London property development schemes to Qatari property firm Barwa Real Estate for £250m.
Barwa Chairman and Managing Director Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad said: "The investment demonstrates our commitment to Europe as part of our growth strategy and signals our interest in strengthening our portfolio interests in London."
The Park House development in Mayfair, comprising a total of 330,000 square feet, includes 70,000 square feet of new build homes, 163,000sqft of offices and 88,000sqft of retail space. The project is due for completion in November 2012.
Last week's JLL report described Qatari investors as "cash rich and with a strong appetite for splashy overseas assets."
The report added: "Qatar is the epitome of energy-rich GCC nations, with a large appetite for real estate investment, fuelled by the rapid growth in oil and gas revenues over recent years."
Last month, Qatar announced that one of its investment arms had bought Harrods department store Harrods for around £1.5bn.
An additional international investment report by Knight Frank earlier this month showed that the UK property market is proving popular with overseas investors from around the world, particularly investors from Asia.
Asians are responsible for buying more than a fifth of all central London new-build properties in recent months, and they now account for 49% of all investment purchases in central London (this compares to only 36% purchased by UK investors).
Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, said: "There has been a revival of international investment demand for new-build homes."
The Knight Frank report said: "Of the 7,595 new-build properties completed in the 12 months to March 2010, 41% of these were bought by investors rather than owner occupiers.
"49% of all investors in the 12 months to March 2010 were Asian, 11% were from China/Hong Kong, 10% from Singapore, and 7% Malaysian."
The weaker UK pound and mature nature of the UK property market, which promises strong long-term investment returns - capital growth and rental returns - has made Britain, and London in particular, an attractive destination for many overseas property investors.
