Savills : West End sees highest Q4 investment volumes since 2014, with 2020 year-end total just 9% down on 2019

The international real estate advisor says that December's turnover of £1.16 billion across 12 transactions was the highest monthly volume of the year and that this single month was responsible for approximately 25% of the total amount (£4.70 billion) transacted in the West End over the whole of 2020.

According to Savills, overall, West End 2020 volumes were only 9% down on 2019, largely due to the near-standstill of the market in H1 2020. December's near-record monthly activity was fuelled by the completion of several flagship transactions which had been under offer during the autumn. One of the most significant of these was British Land's disposal of a 75% stake in three buildings (66 and 45 Seymour Street, and 10 Portman Square, W1) to Allianz Real Estate, advised by Savills, for £410 million.

Stephen Down, head of central London investment at Savills, says: 'The scale of uplift seen in Q4, particularly in December, shows the scale of the pent up demand for London assets and should hopefully be repeated once the current lockdown ends, boding well for the middle and later parts of 2021. We saw European investors accounting for 30% of West End volumes last year, swiftly followed by Asian capital at 28% and UK buyers at 22%. Given the underlying strengths of the market are now coupled with news of a vaccine and certainty of a Brexit trade deal, we anticipate further activity by international buyers throughout 2021.'

Download Savills January 2021 West End Investment Watch here