News & views

Other pages in this section

Leicester in top five UK cities for investing in 2020

7 December 2019

LBV comments on pan-European property company naming Leicester in its top five UK cities to watch in 2020

We read with interest the article below (first published in the Business Live section of the Leicester Mercury on 6 December 2019) about a pan-European property company naming Leicester in its top five UK cities to watch in 2020.

Commenting on the news, Jane Cowley, Chair of Leicestershire Business Voice said: “In the light of such economic uncertainty, this recognition of Leicester’s potential for investment is highly encouraging. The local business community has long seen the growth potential for the city, and the various regeneration projects and investment opportunities mean that we’re one of the best places in the UK in which to do business.”

 

Property giant names its five UK cities to watch in 2020

A European real estate specialist has picked its top five UK cities for investing in next year. The team at Consorto have highlighted five cities as ones to watch – partly because of the amount of construction activity going on there, on top of things like growth prospects and graduate numbers.

Between them they will offer many billions of pounds of investment opportunities in the coming years.

Experts at the Consorto, which has operations across Europe, say that even with a new government set to be elected and Brexit stagnation slowing the country down, Britain still has lots of potential.

It said the city destinations picked are among the most popular with Consorto users, while the UK as a whole remains a top investment target for EU investors.

Consorto chief executive Philip Verzun said more than half of UK commercial real estate investors were coming from overseas, attracted by a weakened pound caused by Brexit uncertainty.

He said: “Despite uncertainty, the UK is still a preferred destination for global corporate real estate investors and is the number one destination on Consorto.

“Opportunities to add yield will likely remain the key focus for investors until more clarity is provided on the macroeconomic outlook.

“While the short-term outlook for the commercial market is arguably volatile, the long-term outlook remains healthy.

“We have noticed an increased demand for locations outside London, where yields are more attractive.”

Consorto is a pan-European commercial B2B online property marketplace covering sectors including office, industrial, retail, hotels and resorts, land, mixed use, special purpose and development sectors.

The Consorto UK commercial property market destination picks to look out for in 2020 are Leicester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Sheffield:

Leicester

The UK’s eighth largest city with a population of more than 500,000, is said to have achievable annual city centre office yields of 5.2 per cent.

Right now a £250 million, 125 acre Leicester Waterside regeneration scheme is underway providing added investment opportunities, while student accommodation is also in demand from 30,000 students at its universities.

Leicester has been named among the top 10 UK economies according to the PwC Good Growth Index, thanks to low unemployment and rapidly improving city life and is the second-fastest growing UK city – up 1.3 per cent a year, according to the ONS.

Buy-to-let investors benefit from undersupply and relatively low property prices, and the city’s £19 billion economy has been voted among the best to do business.

Follow Leicestershire Business Voice