(1888PressRelease)
June 27, 2007 - As far as the British capital is concerned, it is not just UK investors that have been snapping up as much property as they can. Foreign investment in central London assets is "ever increasing", according to property market analyst Ian Springett of Primelocation.
He claims that the capital offers a safe bet for investors with the financial resources to buy there, as evidenced by the growing number of overseas buyers that are ploughing money into the city. "There is a real weight of overseas money, not that this is anything particularly new, but the sheer volume of money and the places it's coming from just seems to be ever increasing," he remarked.
Mr Springett described London as a "one-way bet" because of the good returns that it provides, adding that commercial property in the city represents a "very good medium term investment".
The financial heart of the City of London is currently booming and is expected to continue trading strongly on the back of suggestions that interest rates are due to go up in July. Strong performances in the City means strong performances in the London commercial property sector.
According to Peter Hemple, deputy editor of Property Investor News, commercial property is also a very safe long term investment. He said recently that the sector offers both good, secure returns and the added advantage of being a "very hands off" business, which differentiates it from the residential buy-to-let market.
He explained: "If you're looking for a solid tenant then you can't really get more solid than Barclay's bank, or Marks and Spencer's, or that sort of thing… That appeals to the kind of investor who doesn't want to be going round to a flat every nine months looking at maintenance, trying to find tenants."
Mr Hemple advised investors looking at or operating in the commercial buy-to-let sector to make sure they do their homework on who the potential tenant is going to be. "You fundamentally have to look at the business," he stated, advising that the key issue of letting a shop unit is "not so much what the unit is as who the tenant is".
One way a commercial property investor can trip up is if they lease their property to a firm that is trading unsteadily, or does not seem to have much potential for success: "If it's a small company that's about to go bust in a couple of weeks time, leaving you with an empty shop for a year, then that's not an ideal tenant."
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