The West Midlands has reached approximately £600 million worth of investment in the commercial property sector during Q3 of 2014…

According to results from the latest LSH commercial property investment report, the West Midlands have almost doubled the amount of investment in Q3 this year when compared to the same period in 2013.

Single asset regional transactions were also found to be greater than London-based property, which is the first time in three years. Data also showed that the ratio of regional to London investment stood at almost 2:1.

The total regional investment levels have accelerated to a colossal £10 billion, where almost £6 billion was invested in single asset regional deals in Q3 of this year.

Whilst the South East stormed ahead in terms of investment levels, the East Midlands, South West and Scotland have all seen a rise in investment volumes in Q3. Greater London also saw astonishing growth, where in Q3 it reached over £5.5 billion.

Overall, results for commercial property investments have accelerated, after hitting a staggering £16.3 billion in the UK – the highest results since 2013’s Q4, which also hit above average of the five year figure of £9.4 billion.

The level of investments have increased in Q3 by 37 per cent, which has shown to be the highest volume since Q4 of 2007.

Commenting on the results, Ezra Nahome, CEO of Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “We continue to see high levels of competition among investors for UK commercial property, which looks set to enjoy a record year in terms of returns and investment volumes.

“Investment during the first three quarters of 2014 has already hit £39.1bn and is on track to break through the £50bn mark before the end of the year.  That’s a significant milestone when you consider that annual investment inflows barely reached £30bn as recently as 2012.

“London continues to perform strongly and will remain the most important market for some investors.  However, capital continues to flow back into the regions in a meaningful way as improving confidence and the price of assets in London prompts investors to look beyond the capital.

“In addition, the returns being offered in some of the secondary markets remain attractive to investors wishing to take advantage of the higher yields and positive occupier sentiment.

“However, yields are below average in many sectors and this, coupled with some uncertainties surrounding the forthcoming General Election and a possible interest rate rise, means the pace of increases in capital values is likely to slow significantly in the next 12 months. There is still scope for further increases in capital values, but these will be mainly driven by rental growth rather than further inward yield shift.”