Insider Media Limited

Outside of the South East, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow are the UK cities best placed for a full return to a healthy property market. That’s according to Drivers Jonas Deloitte’s (DJD) “Prospects for the UK 2011” seminar held in Manchester.

Anthony Duggan, of DJD, said: “In the regions, there is patchy demand, high supply and expansion space, so the prospects for growth aren’t great. It looks quite a positive picture for Manchester, and Glasgow and Bristol too – there hasn’t been strong rental growth, but there is now a platform for it. They will perform better than others. But although 2011 won’t be as London-centric as 2010 was, widespread recovery will have to wait.”

Although on the face of it, 2010 was a successful year for UK property investment – it outperformed equities and gilts, with the Investment Property Databank reporting an all-property yield of 6.5 per cent for the year – London and the South East dominated. Of the six property sub-sectors to see positive rental growth in 2010, four were in London and the other two in the south.

DJD’s Howard Richards said that the perception of the UK as a safe bet. Allied with its strong asset management reputation, could help foreign investment continue to flow – Germany, Norway and the Dutch have been big investors. He said: “There is a wall of money. What we want is for that money to start circling other UK cities, not just London.”