Foreign investment in London’s commercial property tops £39 billion

HAWKER BEECHCRAFT, the leading aircraft manufacturer, has conducted research which has found a strong correlation between overseas commercial property investment in London and a rise in inbound city business flights.

The company’s analysis found that a staggering 52% of London’s commercial property was owned by overseas companies which came to a total investment of £39 billion pounds.

The study attributed the rise in foreign investment to the city’s large amount of airports, which were said to be appealing to these companies as they allowed traveling to the heart of the city from continental Europe within a matter of hours.

The biggest foreign investors were found to be German companies who collectively owned a third of the overseas investment; equating to £12 billion pounds or 13.5 million square feet of office space.

Within the first half of 2012, Germany had the third highest volume of inbound business flights into the UK, which equated to an inbound business flight landing every two hours. Additionally there was found to be an 18.1% rise in German flights between 2009 and 2011.

Other countries with significant representation were found to be Ireland (£3 billion) and the Middle East (£4.5 billion), which collectively owned 44 million sq ft of the city’s commercial floor space.

Sean McGeough, HBC president of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, said: "Not only is London perfect for conducting business on a global scale, but it is also supported by a high number of business airports such as London City, Biggin Hill and Farnborough, allowing for travel into the heart of the city from continental Europe within a matter of hours.

"London remains one of the biggest and most influential financial capitals in the world and it is therefore no surprise to see that commercial properties in the City are still very much sought-after by overseas businesses,"