Institutional investors and pension funds are increasingly turning to UK
commercial property in order to generate returns.
New figures from the Association of Real Estate Funds (Aref) show that, in the final three months of last year, £3.2 billion was collected from investment in the country's
business property market - the highest quarterly amount on record.
John Cartwright, chief executive of Aref, said that the figures indicate a positive end to what was a "volatile year".
He explained that there was "extraordinary growth in returns" between October and December, with the figure far exceeding the previous high of £1.7 billion that was set during the height of the real estate boom in 2006.
In addition, £2.9 billion of positive net fund flows occurred over the three months to the end of 2009, an improvement on the £400 million that was seen in the previous quarter.
Many firms and organisations are looking to take advantage of the upturn in
commercial real estate, with First Property Group and HSBC both recently announcing the launch of new funds.