Middle East investors turn to U.K. real estate

Increased geopolitical unrest and low oil prices are encouraging a flight to safety, driving private Middle East investors toward property assets across the United Kingdom, according to JLL.

“The deals we are seeing are in the sub-institutional range, typically priced between $20 million and $50 million, and the preferred assets are high-yielding with long lease tenures. In short, they are seeking long-term, stable properties with good yields,” says Fadi Moussalli, head of JLL’s Middle East and North Africa group within its International Capital division.

Middle East investors are reviewing noncore assets, and they are increasingly looking at property outside their traditional London criteria, where higher yields are easier to achieve, such as logistics, healthcare and student housing properties, particularly those with a long-term, high-income profile.

“We see Middle East investors increasingly willing to take on more risk in their purchasing decisions,