London 'best for property'
London is the best option for real estate investors, the report says
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Tuesday, 23, Oct 2007 01:24
London is the top European city for investors looking to put their money into real estate, a new report has claimed.
The British capital has kept French rival and long-term leader Paris off the top spot for the second consecutive year, according to the latest research published by LaSalle Investment Management.
The global real estate investment firm says high economic and employment growth and the dominance of London's financial sector led the UK city to top its European regional economic growth index.
The annual report identifies the European cities that are expected to be in greatest demand among occupiers over the medium term and of most interest to investors and
developers.
A total of 91 European cities have been ranked by LaSalle, according to a combination of economic growth factors, overall wealth levels and the relative attractiveness of the local business market in each location.
In its latest report the company stresses that London is a "central hub" for high-tech companies and one of the UK's key centres for medicine and biosciences, while pointing out that the city's infrastructure is set to receive a boost from the 2012 Olympics.
Meanwhile German city Munich has leapt five places to overtake Paris for second place on LaSalle's index, with the improvement in its position attributed to the rapidly improving economy in Germany.
Paris, which in third place is ranked at its lowest level since 1999, is less attractive as a result of reduced employment growth forecasts, according to LaSalle.
However the company said the city was expected to benefit from a general economic recovery within the eurozone and was also boosted by a "comprehensive" transport system which made it a major global trading, financial and logistics centre.
Robin Goodchild, head of European research at LaSalle, said: "Europe has a group of key cities which are the principal locations investors should focus on.
"London, Munich and Paris are the stand-out markets of the moment that will offer consistent occupier demand through the business cycle."
Luxembourg, Helsinki, Stuttgart, Dublin, Oslo, Stockholm and Madrid complete the top ten.
In its report LaSalle also concluded that the overall outlook for European real estate remains good despite the current credit crisis, which it said was likely to result in banks becoming more cautious about lending and putting pressure on highly-leveraged investors.