High hopes for UK at Hines and CBRE
HINES’ new UK managing director said there were “trillions” waiting to be invested into London in the years to come, highlighting that the city remained one of the most attractive global cities to invest in amid the turmoil in the Eurozone.
Ross Blair (pictured) told City A.M. at the Mipim conference in Cannes yesterday that the US investor and developer will plough £1bn into the UK real estate market over the next three years and double the size of its investment portfolio from 2m sq ft to about 4m sq ft.
“London still remains one of the most attractive cities to invest in,” Blair said, while stressing that bidding for core assets coming onto the London market continued to be fiercely competitive.
The developer of Cannon Place in the City plans to shift its focus from development to investment in the UK in order to balance the books and “provide more steady revenue streams” in an uncertain economic environment.
Meanwhile, property adviser CBRE said today that real estate investors in Europe view the United Kingdom as the most attractive market for purchases in 2012, with London standing out as the single most attractive city.
CBRE’s survey, completed by more than 340 leading property investors, found that the UK is the most attractive real estate market for investment in Europe for 31 per cent of investors, up significantly from 16 per cent in 2011.
Germany was the second most attractive market, selected by 27 per cent of investors.