The number of enquiries from Chinese firms looking to invest in the UK commercial property market jumped by a third in the last three of months of 2016.

Consultant Arcadis said the spike was being driven by a weak pound following the UK’s decision to leave the EU last June, which was allowing Chinese investors to pick up more schemes for less money.

This interest is also moving away from central London and into residential and mixed use developments in other UK cities, the firm added.

Mark Cleverly, head of commercial development at Arcadis, said: “Since the referendum vote on Brexit, we have seen more Chinese development companies looking to acquire UK development sites or existing assets.

“They currently enjoy a discount against sterling, so they are actively seeking new global investment opportunities to counter a downturn in their own domestic markets.

“Our UK regional cities face a shortage of housing and strong population growth; combine this with lower land values, low interest rates and more affordable house prices, and it is easy to see why the UK regions offer attractive growth prospects for these well capitalised developers.”

 

KPF’s One Nine Elms scheme in south London is being developed by Chinese firm Dalian Wanda.

The firm’s debut UK project is a £1 billion scheme and will feature a brace of towers – 42 and 58 storeys high. Last month it appointed Multiplex, which is building another KPF scheme, the new Goldman Sachs groundscraper going up close to Farringdon station, to carry out construction work.

And Chinese firm Beijing Construction and Engineering Group International is part of the consortium behind a £140 million Make scheme in Manchester called St Michael’s that went in for planning last month while the huge Royal Albert Docks mixed-use scheme in east London, which Farrells is working on, is being developed by Chinese firm ABP.

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