Office space in London is the most-sought after in the world, a new study has shown.
According to figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Urban Clear Institute, total office sales in London in the second half of the year climbed to £6 million. This represented almost twice the value of transactions completed during the previous six months.
Factors influencing the surge of interest in commercial property in the capital included the weakness of the pound against foreign currencies, as well as a slide in prices that made London attractive to private investors and sovereign wealth funds.
By July prices in London had fallen by 50 per cent over the previous two years. This was the most marked decrease in any European city.
The mark left by the state-backed investment vehicles was best illustrated by the national pension fund operated by South Korea completing a deal for £1 billion for the HSBC’s London headquarters in Canary Wharf.
John Forbes, head of real estate at PwC, said: “The worst may be over and the bottom has been reached for London.
The analysis firm’s study collated responses from 600 property sector players across the globe.