While born in the USA, American private equity firms and venture capitalists are increasingly crossing the pond to invest in UK cities such as Cambridge. Although macro economics means that Americans can currently get good bang for their buck here, it is the quality of the region’s science and technology proposition that continues to attract US money.

Savills research found that private equity and venture capitalist funding into Cambridge topped £1 billion in the five years to 2016 and has been around £200 million, on average, per annum. As of the end of October this year, US investment into Cambridge was £254 million, a 38 per cent increase on the five-year average.

So other than their love of the monarchy, why are Americans drawn to our shores?

It's largely down to Cambridge’s global reputation. Home to one of the top universities in the world and a significant medical campus, investors have taken a keen interest in the healthcare sector, which accounted for a significant proportion of the money spent over the past five years. Furthermore, its closeness to London and the city’s high standard of living no doubt ticks a lot of boxes for international firms looking locally.

With the life sciences largely located to the south of the city and tech companies to the north, the two sectors often work together on both current and future convergence plays, remaining firmly at the forefront of global innovation. What’s more, alongside the big American firms such as Amazon and Apple who have made Cambridge their home, the city is also a hotbed of home-grown start-up activity. As a result, incubator space remains largely at capacity.

What does that mean for the city’s real estate? A lack of new development coupled with low levels of Grade A stock has always been a problem for Cambridge.

However, as firms expand Savills believes that natural churn should alleviate some of the pressure. For example, local growth story Darktrace, which has become hugely successful over in the US, is set to move into 20,000 sq ft at the new Maurice Wilkes Building upon its completion in 2018. This in turn will clear the existing space at the Platinum Building in St John’s Innovation Park for new occupiers.

A similar story is set to occur when AstraZeneca completes its move to a new corporate HQ at the Biomedical Campus in 2019, which is also likely to free up opportunities across Cambridge.

Americans have always had a healthy appetite for UK real estate and with continued future growth prospects and firms crying out for funding, what’s clear is that the US remains hungry for Cambridge.

Further information

Read more: Spotlight Cambridge: Building its global future