UK non-residential property transactions forecast to rise 6% in 2026 as market regains momentum
The latest research by BPS London has revealed that while non-residential property transactions across the UK dipped by -1% in 2025, activity is forecast to climb by 6% in 2026. This would mark the most significant rate of growth since the market rebounded from the sharp decline seen during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
BPS London analysed* a decade of non-residential property transaction data across the UK, before forecasting the level of activity expected to take place across the commercial property market in 2026.
The analysis shows that an estimated 125,090 non-residential property transactions took place across the UK in 2025, representing a -1% decline on the previous year.
2020 remains the only year over the last decade in which transactions fell below the 100,000 threshold, largely as a result of pandemic-related disruption.
The market rebounded strongly the following year, with transactions increasing by 26% in 2021, but activity has largely been treading water since, with little notable growth in overall transaction volumes, with the exception of 2024, when transactions increased by 5%.
However, 2026 is forecast to bring a notable boost to market activity, with a projected 6% increase expected to result in 132,604 non-residential property transactions. This would mark the highest annual level of activity seen over the past decade since the previous market peak of 128,280 transactions recorded in 2017.
According to BPS London, this anticipated uplift reflects improving investor confidence across the commercial property sector, as well as a growing focus on acquiring and upgrading well-located assets capable of meeting modern occupier expectations.
The firm recently acted on this opportunity alongside Purestone Capital, completing the acquisition of a core West End office building on Tottenham Court Road in Fitzrovia. The joint venture between the two private investors marks the first acquisition for their value-add investment platform, with plans to reposition the building to deliver best-in-class workspace aligned with the evolving requirements of today’s workforce.
Mahir Vachani, director at BPS London Developments, commented: “Over the last few years the commercial property market has largely been in a holding pattern, with transaction volumes moving slightly up or down but without any sustained period of growth.
However, the forecast for 2026 suggests we may now be entering the next phase of that cycle, where improving confidence across the sector begins to translate into stronger levels of transaction activity.
Our recent acquisition on Tottenham Court Road reflects that confidence.
We see significant opportunity in acquiring well-located assets in prime London locations and upgrading them to deliver the kind of high-quality workspace that modern businesses increasingly expect.”
Data Tables and Sources
*Non-residential property transactions data sourced from Gov – Property transactions in the UK (2015-2025).
Forecast for 2026 based on ETS (exponential smoothing) forecasting model including interpolation, accounting for seasonality, and based on a middle bound confidence interval using the last 10 years worth of market data.
View full data tables and sources online here.