US investors deployed £13.6bn in the UK’s commercial property market in 2024, more than double the amount spent a year earlier, according to research from the British Property Federation (BPF) and CoStar Group.

Last year, the flow of US capital eclipsed inward investment of all other nations combined, with nearly half of the 62 deals larger than £100m completed by a US buyer.

US investors represented a record 33% share of all investment into the UK. They bought £49.7bn worth of UK commercial properties, dwarfing acquisitions from elsewhere in the world.

The report found US private equity buyers have been particularly active, with four of the five largest 2024 deals, amounting to £5bn, involving Blackstone, Starwood Capital, KKR and CD&R-backed Motor Fuel Group.

Private equity groups primarily invested in hotels and mixed-use portfolios, but an uptick in big London West End deals towards the end of the year indicates a growing appetite for prime offices.

While London remains a magnet for global capital, the UK’s regions are catching up, as investors target beds, sheds and increasingly retail, according to the report.

The South East remain the preferred regions for inward investment from overseas, but the maturing of the build-to-rent (BTR) sector and demand for student housing is driving investment into the North West.

Together with the West Midlands, the North West has drawn more foreign capital than other regions outside of London and the South East over the past several years.

The industrial and logistics sector received the majority of overseas investment into the UK between 2021 and 2024, accounting for 24%.

Melanie Leech, chief executive, British Property Federation, said: “It may not be surprising to see that the US tops the list this time for overseas investment, given that US investors have been instrumental in the growth of the BTR sector, providing more than a hundred thousand modern, professionally-managed homess.

“But they also play an important role in the market for offices, logistics and, increasingly, retail.”

Grant Lonsdale, senior director of market analytics at CoStar Group added: “Our comprehensive building and transactions data used to compile this report reveals an array of notable international investment trends into UK commercial property.

“One that is especially noteworthy is that although London attracts the lion’s share of cross-border funds flowing into the country, other regions are catching up, as investors increasingly target the living and industrial sectors.”