Investment in Bristol’s commercial property market has soared by 47% this year, with Saudi Arabia the largest foreign investor.
Investors, both domestic and from overseas, have acquired commercial properties worth £975m so far this year against £663m for the January to September period last year, according to latest research from proptech platform Datscha, which shows ultimate ownership of commercial properties. 
UK investors increased their interest in Bristol from £465m in 2017 to £585m in 2018, with the largest total foreign investment coming from Saudi Arabia at £35m, which includes Sidra Capital’s £32m purchase of The Hub, 500 Aztec West, pictured – the 103,000 sq ft landmark UK headquarters of Atkins – from a fund managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments.
Second was the US – the previous largest foreign investor in 2017. One of the largest deals last year was Columbia Threadneedle’s £21m purchase of the Prudential building in Wine Street in the city centre.
Datscha head of research Lesley Males said: “Bristol has performed well as a regional city over the past 12 months. With great transport links to the rest of the UK and strengths in many key growth sectors, including aerospace, creative industries and digital technology, demand for commercial property investment in the region should continue.
“Our research matches every asset within the portfolio to its correct title deed which reveals, with accuracy, the properties that are being transacted regionally – as opposed to providing a top line summary of the whole portfolio in isolation. Examples of significant portfolio deals include the £750m Ribbon Hotel portfolio to Vision Capital partners and the £150m Helical Magnus Industrial portfolio which both featured properties in Bristol.”
The Datscha platform shows ultimate ownership of commercial properties, taking data from deals worth more than £3m each. It further corroborates its research by uncovering portfolio deals matched with the latest Land Registry data.
