Overseas buyers accounted for 71% of central London investment volumes in the first quarter, despite a shortage of stock constraining activity, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Around £2.8bn of central London stock was traded in the first three months of the year, down by 31% on the previous quarter due to the dearth of buildings in the market, the agent said.

The City and Docklands saw £1.8bn traded in 22 deals, with an average lot size of £80.5m, with overseas investors accounting for 88% of the activity.

Of the nine overseas transactions, with an average lot size of £175m, investors from North America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East made up the largest share, representing 26%, 27% and 22%, respectively.

The largest deals included the sale of Ropemaker Place, EC2, for £472m, 5 Canada Square, E14, for £383m, Woolgate Exchange, EC2, for £265m and Palestra, SE1, for £225m.

Between them they accounted for £1.4bn of the total, or 75%.

C&W head of City investment Bill Tyser said: "Activity remains strong with over £2bn of transactions reportedly under offer.

"Again, much of this activity is limited to a small number of substantial transactions and, while there are concerns over the availability of stock to meet this intensified demand, there are also signs of profit-taking emerging from investors who acquired property at the beginning of this 'crisis cycle'."

The West End was particularly vulnerable to the stock shortage, with £965m traded in 33 deals, with an average lot size of £29.2m.

This compares with £1.2bn in 40 transactions for the same period in 2012.

The largest deals included the purchase of 151 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1, by Lembaga Tabung Haji for £205m, 17-18 Old Bond Street, W1, purchased by the tenant, Prada, for around £90m, and 1 Grafton Street, W1, bought by Pembroke Real Estate.

Cushman & Wakefield said a further £400m of stock was understood to have exchanged and awaiting completion, with another £1.5bn under offer.

Overseas investors accounted for over 51% of the purchaser volumes in the quarter.

C&W head of West End investment Mike Tremayne said: "While the lack of available stock in the West End restrained investment volumes in the last quarter, the market continues to act as a target for overseas and domestic investors alike, all looking to benefit from the underlying positive occupational demand, strong liquidity and general 'safe haven' qualities the West End has to offer."