Aspen Woolf On Why Property Investment In The North-West Has Doubled

There has been a huge rise in commercial property investment in the north-west of England. Investors have increasingly come to realise the value of some of the key areas in the north, including Liverpool.

Thanks to this awareness and understanding, along with the benefits from the Northern Powerhouse initiative, investors have increased their interest to a record high.

Figures Increased

During Q1 2018, the volumes of investment in cities like Liverpool has leapt to £965 million according to figures released by UK Investment Transactions. This is more than twice the amount achieved in Q1 2017, which peaked at £440 million.

This is a phenomenal start to the year in terms of property investment and is thanks largely to two main deals. The first came when L&G bought Liverpool’s India Buildings for £125 million, and the second with Aviva’s acquisition of 2 New Bailey in the Salford area of Manchester. The latter deal was worth £113 million, and both Liverpool and Manchester have contributed to this huge boost in investment.

Office Space

The top investment in the north-west region’s commercial property sector was office space. This accounted for 41% of all transactions in the first quarter of 2018. The retail sector continues to fall slightly behind, which is something mirrored across the whole of the UK as customer attention continues to shift online.

While retail is likely to continue to be more subdued, there seems no stopping the rest of the commercial sector in Liverpool and Manchester, as well as surrounding areas.

Build-to-rent Investment

We’ve also seen a significant increase in build-to-rent investment deals in the north-west. This was again boosted by a major deal in Liverpool. This was to create 383 build-to-rent unites and the development has been financed by forward-funding by Invesco and Manchester arena.

Both Liverpool and Manchester have enjoyed major advances in their build-to-rent market over the last year or so, and industry experts expect this to continue as an investment trend.

Comparatively strong

Overall, the north-west continues to perform strongly and this is shown clearly when figures are compared with the rest of the country’s data. A broad rage of investors, from the UK and overseas, are continuing to show real interest in investing in the region.

As we head towards Brexit and the uncertainty it brings, more investors are turning away from London and looking around at other viable investment hotspots in the UK. Liverpool and Manchester are continually surprising the market with excellent figures and its’ likely that this strong start to the year will continue throughout the rest of 2018.