Total investment in office, industrial and retail property in the Netherlands increased to €1.3 bn in Q1 2014, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, according to Savills.

Total investment in office, industrial and retail property in the Netherlands increased to €1.3 bn in Q1 2014, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, according to Savills.

The latest increase was supported by a rebound in the retail segment. Trading volumes in retail reached €755 mln in the first quarter, Savills said in its Netherlands 'Markets in Minutes' report which was released at the Provada fair in Amsterdam.

'We have to go back to 2010, when Unibail-Rodamco was in the midst of their divestment programme to find similarly high retail investment volumes,' Savills said in the report.

The largest retail deal in the first quarter involved another listed company divesting non-core assets; Corio sold a portfolio of shopping centres to a joint venture of US investor Mount Kellet and local player Sectie 5 for over €100 mln.

Office investment slowed to €185 mln in the first quarter but picked up again in Q2 with Union Investment purchasing the ITO-SOM office complex in Amsterdam's Zuidas district for €245 mln, and another German fund manager, HIH buying the Prins & Keizer building in the centre of Amsterdam for €90 mln. These deals helped lift the Q2 volume to around €500 mln.

There is more to come. 'A selection of office investment opportunities currently being marketed totals €1 bn,' Clive Pritchard, head of Savills Netherlands, added.

Savills Netherlands market in minutes (PDF)