^{Source: Savills Research}

■ A notable transaction saw the sale of Blackstone’s interest in Cannon Bridge House, Dowgate Hill, EC4 to FG Asset Management and European real estate investment manager the Valesco Group for £248m reflecting a net initial yield of circa 5.2% and a capital value of £865 per sq ft. Cannon Bridge House comprises 286,595 sq ft of office space split across two interconnecting buildings, the newly refurbished River Building and the Atrium Building. The property has a landscaped roof garden extending to more than an acre. Savills advised Blackstone.

■ Savills has also sold Topland’s freehold interest in First Avenue House, High Holborn WC1 to a private Asian investor for £154m, which reflected a net initial yield of circa 3.4% and a capital value of £1,372 psf. The property comprises approximately 112,274 sq ft of office and ancillary accommodation let in its entirety to the First Secretary of State until September 2038 with the rent subject to fixed uplifts of 2.5% per annum. The property is in active use as a Court Room facility with 29 separate Court Rooms in addition to Chambers, offices and ancillary space.

■ 2018 has seen a muted start to the year with total Q1 turnover of £1.37bn, across 20 transactions, the lowest Q1 turnover in the City of London since 2010 and 11% down on the 10-year average of £1.54bn. Investor sentiment remains strong, highlighted by the fact that there is currently £3bn under offer, 20% of which has already unconditionally exchanged.

■ Despite continued investor demand, the City market is lacking available opportunities. We are aware of c. £1.87bn of available opportunities across 25 transactions, 75% of which are accounted for within the top five properties by lot size.

■ A trend emerging this year is a lack of sub £50m opportunities with currently only 16 available properties on the market within this price range, compared with 25 in 2017 and 33 in 2016. The lack of available stock is likely to continue to frustrate the market, whilst investor interest remains high.

^{Source: Savills Research}

■ Asian investors continue to invest in the City of London and accounted for 57% of total Q1 investment volume with UK investors (23%) and Middle Eastern Investors (14%) accounting for the majority of the remaining volume. Interestingly in terms of number of deals, UK investors are ahead with 12 acquisitions in Q1 2018, 60% of all deals.

■ Savills prime City yield remains at 4.00% for the fourteenth consecutive month, this compares with the West End prime yield of 3.25%.

^{Source: Savills Research}

^{Source: Savills Research}