UK London Office Marketbeat Report

For the data behind the commentary, download the full Q3 2026 UK London Offices Report.

The Shift in Sources of Capital

Central London’s investor base has shifted markedly in 2026, with UK capital taking a much larger role in the market. Between 2016 and 2025, UK purchasers accounted for 31% of investment, broadly alongside Asia Pacific capital at 33%. The balance changed significantly in 2025, when the UK share increased to 36%, before rising further to 46% of purchases during Q1-Q3 2026. At the same time, Asia Pacific capital has fallen from 33% over the longer-term period to 14% in 2025 and tightening even more to just 9% in 2026, due to the absence of investment from Hong Kong, Singapore and China who together made up close to 75% of Asia Pacific market share over the last 10 years. In 2026, Japanese capital has been the largest contributor of Asian money at 50%. Whilst the capital from this cohort of investors has reduced, it hasn’t disappeared, evidenced by close to £560 million acquired so far this year. 

Meanwhile, European capital has moved in the opposite direction. Buyers from the rest of Europe represented 15% of purchases between 2016-25, rising to 21% in 2025 and 24% during Q1-Q3 2026. North American investors accounted for 13% in 2026, broadly aligned with the 12% recorded over the longer term. The result is a noticeably different capital mix. UK and European buyers together represent 70% of investment in 2026, compared with 46% across 2016-25. Rather than the recovery being driven predominantly by the international capital sources that characterised previous cycles, the latest figures point to domestic and European investors playing a much greater role.

£100m+ lot sizes show a mixed picture

Whilst the whole market is skewed towards UK investors, those targeting lot sizes in excess of £100 million are coming from overseas. In 2025, 73% of the number of deals over £100 million were from overseas capital, with 65% recorded so far in 2026, demonstrating that UK purchasers are favouring small to medium lot sizes, which is pushing up their overall market share.