Enough has been said about 2020, arguably the most challenging year many of us have faced. We are therefore proud to announce that in spite of all of this, we have done a stellar 83 deals this year (which equates to 3 transactions every fortnight), matching 2019 volumes, which is no mean feat.
The results are a testament to the hard work of the Prideview Agency team – their flexibility in unforeseen times and their willingness to always go the extra mile for our clients – and of course all the property professionals we work alongside too.
It is also a testament to the commercial property investment market, which has been hit extremely hard by lockdown, but continues to offer a home for cash funds needing the security provided by bricks and mortar – the one thing other investment markets cannot offer.
A summary of our 2020 transactions can be seen here, with a number of very interesting observations detailed below:
Key Observations
For the first time, the majority of our transactions took place in the Midlands, rather than London. This certainly begs the question, during the extended lockdown period and the requirement to stay home, have investors realised that there is actually life beyond London? Most certainly, for anyone seeking long-income security of supermarket and convenience store investments there is.
Supermarkets continued to be the sector of choice for private investors with 24 transactions taking place. Only a fifth of those were in London, which reflects a trend we have been seeing in this sector of London convenience store deals are trading below 5% meaning investors need to look further a field to get a piece of this pie. Most interestingly, our average spend on a convenience store rose from £570,000 in 2019 to £1.3m in 2020, suggesting investors want larger, purpose-built supermarkets which are expected to fare well long term.
Due to the wholesale changes in which the real estate industry as a whole has had to operate in lockdown, it’s no surprise that 68% of our deals were done Off-Market in 2020 compared to 44% in 2019. Nervousness about the economy in particular has meant sellers don’t want to risk seeing their property sales publicly falling flat. We remain available 24/7 to any seller or trader interested in using our unique Off-Market dealing service that has been honed over 35 years.
All Sectors Covered. Once again, we have succeeded in transaction across the property spectrum, and whilst Retail property continues to be our forte, we are actively looking for Industrial, Office and Residential opportunities.
If you need the full lowdown on what is happening in the private investor market, fill in our contact form via this link to request the private recording of our 45 minute Virtual Property Seminar – an excellent way to kick off 2021.
Contact Us in 2021
2021 will no doubt be another challenging year. The UK will, however, come through as the vaccination programme continues, and rents will start coming in. The post-Covid world will be different, and it could pay to talk to a team that’s close to the ground.
So whether you are looking to buy or sell, or need assistance with property management, contact us here to organise a telephone or video call in the first instance.
