International buyers accounted for 71% of the £2.75bn of commercial property sales in the first quarter, says Cushman & Wakefield.

 

The agents’ data shows the total value of transactions declined 31% on the previous quarter when sales reached £39.8bn. The decline reflected a lack of available property in central London, particularly in the West End. A few large deals, including for Ropemaker Place, in the City, 5 Canada Square, in Canary Wharf, Woolgate Exchange, in the City, and Palestra, on the South Bank of the Thames, accounted for much of the total. Some £965m of property in the West End changed hands in the first quarter, down from £1.21bn in the same period in 2012.