Huge demand from Asian capital

Asian capital continues to pour into Europe but investors from different countries are after different sectors and products, according to CBRE.

‘We have never seen so much capital from so many places coming and looking for product,’ said Stephen Miles, executive director – EMEA investment properties, CBRE. – There is a huge amount of demand from Asian-based capital, driven by currency, spreads and diversification needs.’

All that capital is now firmly focused on Europe as the US market is seen as difficult, he said, but there are many nuances as Asian investors behave in different ways. 

‘South Koreans look for long income and good covenants to underwrite in a safe way, Hong Kong capital is still mainly focused on the UK and is not really spreading into Europe yet, while Singaporeans are focused on value-add and core plus stories, driving value in the capital they are deploying,’ he said.

‘Many markets have been starved of development for a long time, so investors who want good product need to go up the risk curve,’ said Miles. ‘People are re-defining what they think it’s opportunistic.’

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