INVESTMENT in East Midlands commercial real estate is set to bounce back in 2023 after transaction volumes dropped at the end of last year amid the UK’s economic uncertainty.
Total investment volume in the region was £1.356 billion in 2022 – significantly down and nearly half (44%) of the previous year’s record-breaking volume, according to the annual market review by leading commercial property agents Innes England.
L-R BEN ROBINSON & MATT HANNAH
However, the figure was only slightly down (11.5%) on the five-year rolling average and just 6.75% down on the ten-year rolling average, said Ben Robinson, head of the company’s investment consultancy.
Ben said 2022 had been ‘a year of two halves’ but added: “As we begin 2023 we are cautiously optimistic that despite the re-rating of commercial property yields at the end of last year, transaction activity will return as investors quickly become acclimatised to the new norm.”
The figures were revealed in Innes England’s 16th Market Insite report – presented virtually to an audience of hundreds of industry professionals – which monitors trends in the regional property market, focusing on Nottingham, Leicester and Derby, as well as Birmingham for the first time this year. The webinar featured specially filmed interviews with the senior team on location and included a live Q&A.
Across the East Midlands in 2022, the report highlighted:
The industrial and beds sector again dominated, accounting for 80% of all investment transactions Nottingham bucked the regional trend with total investment at nearly half a billion (£499.7 million) – up 68% on the previous year’s £306m – thanks mainly to purpose-built student accommodation deals Leicester saw ‘strong’ levels of industrial take-up at 4 million sq ft, almost 39% higher than last year Investor demand for city centre offices in Nottingham continued, with notable deals