Scottish property investment value exceeds five-year average in Q1

Investment in Scottish property in the first quarter of 2018 reached £608 million, significantly ahead of the five-year average of £546m, according to the latest research from CBRE Scotland.

The quarter was led by a smaller number of high value deals with the total achieved across 28 transactions, compared with the five-year average of 44 deals.

The office and alternative sectors dominated the quarter, representing over 80 per cent of transaction levels.

Alistair Wright, associate director at CBRE Scotland, said: “This strong quarter performance was dominated by deals which fell over from 2017. Notable transactions include the acquisition of the Aker Campus in Aberdeen (£112.5 million), the Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh (£85 million) and Westway Park in Renfrew (£40 million).

“Interestingly, retail investment volumes are relatively low with £41 million (across seven deals) traded in Q1 – in comparison the same quarters in the last three years saw an average of over £135 million traded.

“Sentiment remains strong for prime products. There is a healthy cocktail of investor appetite from across UK institutions and international capital. Moving in to Q2 we don’t expect a deluge of new product so stock levels will remain challenging however appetite is expected to remain strong.”