Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Dec/Jan 2016/17 | Page 47

INVESTMENT SERIES: PART TWO

cash flow. The Midlands and areas in the North of
England offer stronger cash flow compared to London
and the South East regions.

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Capital growth

London and the South East offer stronger
capital growth compared to the Midlands
and areas in the North of England. The Midlands
and areas in the North of England offer instant equity
through below market value acquisitions. However local
affordability always need to be considered carefully
when acquiring.

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Best of both options

The United Kingdom property market offers
the unique ability to generate both cash flow
and capital growth…

UK Investment hot spots

The West Midlands of the UK and in particular
Birmingham has become a hot spot for investors.

2017 Ranking
4 Dublin
22 Birmingham
23 Manchester
24 Edinburgh
27 London

2016 Ranking Change
3

1
6

15
N/A

N/A
18

14
15

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www.reimag.co.za

AROUND THE UK AND IRELAND
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Birmingham ranks as the highest UK city for
investment prospects in the Emerging Trends in Real
Estate® Europe 2017: New market realities report.
However, Birmingham – which was one of last year’s
top 10 property hotspots in Europe – has dropped 15
places to number 22 based on investors’ views of the
city’s prospects in 2017.
Commenting on the report’s findings, regional chairman
of PwC in the Midlands, Matt Hammond said:
“Birmingham may have dropped out of the top 10
leading European cities for investment prospects in
2017, reflecting how increased uncertainty due to the
impact of Brexit could deter investors, but it remains

the highest performing UK city, ahead of Manchester,
Edinburgh and London. This may be in part due to
the big improvements in the city’s infrastructure,
including the continuing development of HS2, the
extended tramlines and the halo effect created by the
redevelopment of New Street Station and the opening
of Grand Central.
“The report also shows that office take-up in
Birmingham in the first six months of 2016 was very
healthy, exceeding 500,000 square feet. Added to this,
earlier this year, PwC announced our own investment
in the city’s property market. We will be relocating our
Birmingham office in early 2019 to One Chamberlain
Square, a landmark building in the city’s £500 million,
transformational Paradise development. This investment
reflects our commitment to our clients and people in
Birmingham and our desire to offer them a truly firstclass working environment.”

SOURCE: EMERGING TRENDS EUROPE SURVEY 2017
If you are interested in investing in UK property,
building an HMO business, wanting to do a JV,
provide finance with higher than market returns
or secure an ongoing asset based income then
contact info@reimag or go to www.reimag.co.za
and click on INVESTMENTS
DEC/JAN 2016 SA Real Estate Investor

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