#MIPIM Welsh real estate volumes rocket to €978m in 2014

Welsh real estate transaction volumes rocketed 97% to £700 mln (€978 mln) last year, JLL has reported on the first day of MIPIM in Cannes.

JLL predicts 2015 will be another 'record year'.

The figures, released during the launch of JLL’s South Wales Report 2015, follow the news that direct real estate investment in the UK hit a record £65 bn in 2014 – a 16% increase on 2013.

Justin Millett, director of capital markets in JLL’s Cardiff office, said: 'There are a number of reasons why the UK and Wales have performed so well over the last 12 months. The UK as a whole is seen as the global centre for cross-border investment and has been fuelled by increased investor confidence in the accelerating economy, as well as fierce competition for assets and strong pricing in London.

'In Wales, the investment market is considered good value, with yield return on investments higher here than in other regions outside London.'

While the investment focus in Wales has traditionally been on offices, the strongest performing sector was retail and leisure. Of the £700 mln investment pot, the single largest contributing transaction was the £156 mln acquisition by M&G real Estate of the Parc Troste out-of-town retail park in Llanelli in August 2014.

By contrast, the largest office trade in 2014 was the sale of Ty Hywel, home of the Welsh national assembly, to a Kuwaiti family trust in March in a deal worth £40.5 mln.

The growth of alternative sectors such as student housing and leisure has been a significant trend. An example of this was the £12 mln sale of a hotel and three leisure units at Imperial Gate on St Mary Street, Cardiff, to L&G in November 2014.

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