London launches plan for nine real estate mega-projects

Major developments looking to attract £9.6bn investment are unveiled in the first London Investment Prospectus

The Millennium Mills project in Silvertown, east London. Photo: Lendlease

The first London Investment Prospectus was unveiled on Tuesday, looking to attract £9.6 billion ($12.21 billion) into nine new real estate property developments.

Created by the public-private partnership Opportunity London, the investment prospectus comes at a time when research shows London remains the world’s most resilient real estate market.

The nine real developments include a proposed medical business hub in Cavendish Square in the West End just off Oxford Street, and a housing development which includes life sciences companies and film studios in the east of London at Barking Riverside.

There are other planned residential and business developments in north and south London, as well as one at Royal Albert Dock near City Airport.

Analysis from the real estate advisers JLL and Opportunity London shows five-year investment volumes in the UK’s capital totalling $96.2 billion, keeping the capital ahead of New York ($94.3 billion) and San Francisco ($86.5 billion).

JLL also expects buyers from the US and the Middle East to be the most active in London's real estate market over the next 12 months, with 55 per cent and 36 per cent of total investment, respectively.

“While London continues to be the most attractive global city in which to invest, it can also be complex to do so and Opportunity London exists to smooth that path,” said Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of Opportunity London.

“Our London Investment Prospectus has the cross-party backing of every layer of government and the private sector and sets out nearly £10 billion of investable opportunities right now.

“It is the very first time we have all come together in this way and the list of opportunities will only grow as we continue to engage.”

JLL's head of research Adam Challis sees "real upward pressure on values" feeding through London's property market this year and Opportunity London is set to sell the city to investors across the world.

"The Middle East is absolutely on our radar," said Mr Tyrrell in answer to a question from The National.

"Saudi Arabia is very interesting for us right now in terms of the scale of investment, as well as the Emirates."

Liveable and loveable

London was recently placed at number one in the 2024 Resonance World’s Best Cities report, which said the city “is more indomitable and part of the global discourse than ever”.

Each year, the urban consultancy Resonance takes core data from 400 worldwide cities and presents them through three prisms: liveability, lovability and prosperity.

London came top in the Resonance survey for the ninth consecutive year, ranking first in both the liveability and lovability categories, as well as third in the prosperity ranks.

In the same survey, the next UK city was Glasgow (61st), followed by Manchester (71st) and Liverpool (74th). Dubai came in sixth and Abu Dhabi was at number 25.

“In the first year of the new property development cycle, London is positioned ahead of global and European peers to attract capital in terms of pricing, value and the weight of money ready to deploy,” said Mr Challis.

“We are seeing confidence starting to return to the investment markets and Opportunity London will help ensure London can attract investment across real estate, energy and infrastructure.”

Resonance Consultancy - World's best cities

1. London, UK
2. Paris, France
3. New York, USA
4. Tokyo, Japan
5. Singapore
6. Dubai, UAE
7. San Francisco, USA
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
10. Seoul, South Korea