This puts West End investment for the year to date at £2.9bn, 76% ahead of the same point in 2020 and 5% ahead of 2019’s more normalised figure.

With approximately £3.5bn of assets under offer and several major sales set to launch imminently, the international real estate advisor anticipates an equally strong September and a particularly active final quarter as travel restrictions continue to ease and confidence returns to the occupational market. While by volume 37% of August’s deals were transacted by domestic buyers, international buyers accounted for 63%, led by European purchasers (25%), followed by those from the US (16%), Asia (14%) and Middle East (8%).

Stephen Down, head of central London investment at Savills, says: “August’s activity puts the West End market in a very strong position going into the final quarter of the year. With more non-domestic buyers now able to carry out inspections, we forecast that they will increase their share of their market in the coming months, with pricing remaining robust as the growing pool of buyers competes for a limited number of assets.”

Savills says that on the basis of evidence seen this month and general market sentiment, its prime West End yield remains under downward pressure at 3.25%.

Read Savills’s September West End Investment Watch in full here