Central London commercial property investment transactions for 2010 totalled around £9.9 bn (EUR 11.6 bn), an increase of one-third on the £6.6 bn in 2009, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Overseas investors continued to dominate the market, accounting for two-thirds (around 66%) of deals in Q4 and over the year as a whole, and for in excess of 70% of transactions in the City.

Investment volumes for the capital rose for the fifth consecutive quarter in Q3 2010 with £2.85 bn transacted, up from £2.78 bn in Q2. The most recent quarter saw transactions dip to £2.66 bn. The amount of investment still falls a long way short, however, of that achieved during the property boom of a few years ago (volumes for the last five years: 2009: £6.6 bn; 2008: £6.99 bn; 2007: £19.42 bn; 2006: £14.49 bn; 2005: £15.25 bn.

In the City, £1.36 bn-worth of transactions took place in Q4 2010. Major deals included the sale of Drapers Gardens to Evans Randall for £242.5 mln and Bishops Square to JP Morgan for £557 mln. This figure excludes the purchase by JP Morgan of its new headquarters building at 25 Bank Street for just under £500 mln and 60 Victoria Embankment from Carlyle for an undisclosed sum but likely approaching £200 mln. In addition a further 22 transactions were under offer at the year-end, amounting to a further £970 mln approximately.

Clive Bull, head of central London investment at Cushman & Wakefield said: 'Demand remains strong from both domestic and overseas investors as London continues to be perceived as a relatively safe haven for investment. The annual total for 2010 is well up on that of 2009, though nowhere close to the volume average of over £16 bn of the buoyant market during 2005-2007. With sterling still weak and an increase in stock likely with banks off-loading assets, we are confident that 2011 will see volumes continue to rise.'