7th August 2015
According to CBRE, investors have spent £1.8bn on land for property development in central London in the second quarter, up 118% year-on-year and the highest level since 2007. CBRE found that nearly three-quarters of buyers were backed by overseas money. The figures include land for both residential and commercial use. Alastair Perks, CBRE's senior director of central London development, said the market for land on which to construct new buildings "is accelerating at a rate of knots." Mr Perks added that a rising demand from commercial tenants and a shortage of new office space was also driving demand for land: "The leasing market continues to strengthen and, with supply of office space remaining historically low, these factors are creating good opportunities for speculative development," he said.