Brexit has started to dampen investment into the commercial real estate market following a 7% drop in the total value of transactions across England and Wales in 2018, new research shows.
The number of transactions in 2018 also dipped by 4%, according to research into HM Land Registry data conducted by Search Acumen.
Although total commercial activity has increased consistently since 2015, this upward trend was bucked in 2018 with the value of commercial transactions dropping from £102.5bn in 2017 to £96bn.
The number of transactions during the same period fell from 155,526 in 2017 to 148,965.
The research showed six local authorities – all in London – had seen more than £1bn of transactions in their patch in 2016. In 2017, this jumped to 15 local authorities, 10 of which were in London, but the figure dropped to 13 in 2018.
According to the report, the slowdown from 2017-2018 saw five areas drop out of the £1bn transaction list: Hammersmith & Fulham, Newham, Ealing, Lambeth and Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Islington, Barnet and Nottingham entered the list in 2018.
Local authority areas that saw the biggest decline in the value of total investments made between 2016-2018 were: North Tyneside (69%); Babergh and North Warwickshire (both 60%); Southampton (43%); and Colchester (40%).
To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette
