BPF Spotlight Series: Who Invests in UK Property?

For our latest spotlight, we sat down with our Head of Communications Dominic Curran to dive into our recently launched report with CoStar- Who Invests in UK Property?

Dominic shares why we carried out the research, what the report explores and some of the surprising findings that emerged. Here’s what he had to say:

❓ Why have we researched who invests in UK property?

🗣️ I think the commercial property market doesn’t get the recognition it deserves when it comes to driving UK growth. A huge proportion of people work in offices, shops, hotels, labs, warehouses or factories. While those sectors are recognised, the industry that provides the physical spaces that enable them often isn’t. We thought it would be useful to show just how much is invested, and how valuable that is to the UK.

❓ What does the research explore?

🗣️ We looked at three things - where the investment comes from, where it goes geographically across the UK and by asset class. We also went back a few years because we want to tell this story annually and show the trends over time. It really highlights the huge variety of investment, from prime London offices to build-to-rent flats in Birmingham and Manchester, right through to logistics facilities in the East Midlands. The breadth of international capital coming into the UK is amazing - and it really shows what a nationwide industry this is.

❓ What were the biggest takeaways?

🗣️ I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I hadn’t appreciated just how huge US investment is in UK commercial real estate. Since 2021, capital from the States has been bigger than the next 19 countries combined, and last year it made up a third of all large transactions. Even though there’s a lot of trade friction globally at the moment, it’s mostly focused on goods. If it ever started to hit services, particularly property transactions, that would be truly disastrous. The other big thing that stood out was just how much residential has grown and how investment is starting to spread beyond London.

❓ How will this report influence future discussions on investment policy?

🗣️ We really hope this informs government policy going forward. CoStar’s extensive database gives a really detailed picture of transactions, and I think it shows just how important commercial property investment is to the UK’s economic prosperity. We’re a foundational sector, in the language of the Government’s industrial strategy, and this report really helps tell that story.