Investment activity in the Northern Ireland commercial property sector rebounded last year, led by the sale of PwC’s new headquarters in Belfast Merchant Square.
That’s according to real estate agent CBRE which said investment volumes the in last year were double those in 2020 and the highest on record since 2017.
Total volume was boosted by the sale of Merchant Square to a Middle Eastern Investment Fund for £87 million, the largest ever office investment deal in Northern Ireland.
READ MORE: {}
Even without that deal, the market experienced a much busy year with a number of significant transactions including the sale of Balloo Retail Park in Bangor to Supermarket Income REIT for £24.8 million and Shane Retail Park in Belfast, which was sold to DS Properties for £23 million.
Gavin Elliott, senior director at CBRE NI, said Northern Ireland continued to offer value to investors.
“Northern Ireland has an attractive real estate yield advantage when compared with GB and ROI and we expect to see strong investor appetite in Northern Ireland continue into 2022, largely due to our unique location as a gateway between the 海角视频 and EU,” he said.
“Traditional core assets such as retail warehousing and well-leased prime offices will continue to attract suitable buyers, but we also expect to see investors targeting the alternative sectors such as build-to-rent, healthcare and logistics or ‘beds, meds and sheds’, which will bode well for Northern Ireland.”
CBRE’s research shows that Offices and Retail were the key investment sectors across 2021, accounting for approximately 43% and 40% respectively of the overall spend.
Most Read
Industrial and Alternatives made up around 11% and 6% of activity respectively but both sectors are expected to increase their market share to help more evenly spread volumes across all sectors in the coming years.
Institutional investors were responsible for buying the bulk of commercial property in Northern Ireland across the year with more than a 38% share, while local investors bought over 33%, PropCos (property companies) over 15% and REITs (real estate investment trusts) around 14%.
Brian Lavery, Managing Director at CBRE NI, said the market performed well last year.
“We have seen a dramatic increase in investor appetite for properties across all sectors, which has been primarily driven by the low interest rate environment and the continuing improvement in the occupier markets and wider economy,” he said. “Furthermore, with inflationary pressure being felt throughout the 海角视频 economy, investor sentiment for real estate will continue to strengthen.
“It’s clear that there is growing appetite for Northern Ireland’s commercial real estate from investors across the spectrum. With a raft of reasons to invest – from an exceptional talent pool to a high standard of living – Northern Ireland provides a strong draw for international companies looking for improved returns and we expect that to continue in 2022.”