Despite some disheartening headlines, there have been many reasons to be cheerful about UK property this year, and plenty of factors why we’re optimistic about 2020 too. As the year draws to a close, here are our top 10 positive stories from 2019 that you may have missed.

Retail

1 A record 58 new international retail brands have opened in London this year, above last year’s total of 55, with the number potentially reaching 65 before Big Ben strikes midnight on 31 December. London has long been seen as a key destination for international brands looking to expand and grow their global profile irrespective of economic uncertainty.  

2 The number of active requirements for space in UK shopping centres rose in the Midlands, Wales, North West and Scotland, with the latter witnessing the strongest growth of over 20 per cent. Despite changing consumer habits, retailers and leisure operators continue to see the value in opening sites within shopping centres.

Logistics

3 Take-up of industrial warehouse units of 100,000sq ft + is set to hit 33 million sq ft by the end of 2019 – a 33 per cent increase on the long-term average. This is being driven by an increase in demand from a diverse mix of occupiers.

4 The UK’s largest industrial deal ever was signed in 2019: Jaguar Land Rover took 2.9 million sq ft of space in the East Midlands for a new campus for its global spare parts operation.

Offices

5 Regional office markets remain strong: total take-up in Manchester, for instance, in the first three quarters of 2019 reached 1.1 million sq ft – exceeding the five-year average by 16 per cent – and we expect the annual total to be above 1.5 million sq ft. Aberdeen’s office market is on track for a bumper year too, with our forecasts suggesting total 2019 take-up will be in excess of 450,000 sq ft – its best year since 2014.

6 The City of London saw a new annual record for the number of deals over £70.00/sq ft: by the end of October, 46 known deals had been done at this level (over 20 per cent of all the deals in the City), setting an annual record with November and December yet to be counted.  

Investment

7 The UK remains a safe haven for international buyers: commercial property transaction volumes by US and Middle Eastern buyers increased by 56.4 per cent and 14.8 per cent respectively over the first nine months of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018. Similarly, we have seen increased activity by Malaysian investors this year.

8 Yields have hardened in central London: a lack of stock in the market has meant that London commercial investment volumes have been lower than in previous years, but when prime buildings with long incomes have come to the market we’ve seen yields harden, reinforcing the strength of the London market. A key example is the sale of 8 Finsbury Circus which moved City yields down by 25 basis points when it completed.

Residential

9 Housing delivery across England has continued to rise. According to the latest Energy Performance Certificate data, some 256,000 new homes were registered in the year to Q3 2019, an increase of 11 per cent year-on-year. Affordable housing delivery in 2018/19 also increased, rising 23 per cent on 2017/18.   

10 A Build to Rent Partnership between Transport for London and Grainger Plc, supported by Savills, announced this year, is set to deliver over 3,000 new homes across London, including a minimum of 40 per cent affordable housing. The UK’s Build to Rent sector is currently worth £9.6 billion and we forecast that it could be worth £544 billion at maturity.

Further information

Read more: European property predictions for 2020 and beyond