* LaSalle plans to spend 1 bln stg on UK real estate in 2020
* Madison has $1 bln-plus to spend in London and is pursuing
deals
* Post-Brexit trade negotiations could weigh on market
By Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop
LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Investors expect to plough
billions of pounds into UK commercial real estate this year,
citing some long-awaited Brexit clarity after last week's
departure from the European Union.
Real estate investment foundered after Britain's vote to
leave the EU 3-1/2 years ago, hit by uncertainty over the move
and its potential impact on the economy. But sentiment has
improved with December's resounding election victory for the
Conservative party, effectively guaranteeing Brexit.
Though a trade deal between Britain and the EU has yet to be
negotiated, LaSalle Investment Management told Reuters it plans
to spend 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) on UK property this
year. The company already has 12.3 billion pounds in real estate
assets in Britain.
Madison International Realty, meanwhile, is "pursuing
several possible transactions", accoring to the private equity
firm's president, Ronald Dickerman. The firm said in October
that it had more than $1 billion to spend on central London.
Dutch real estate developer Breevast, London-listed
Intermediate Capital (ICG) and U.S. duo CA Ventures and
Invesco Real Estate all told Reuters they see
opportunities in Britain, with ICG's co-head of real estate,
Martin Wheeler, highlighting increased appetite from overseas
investors.
Apollo Global, which lent $2.9 billion for real
estate in Britain last year, is similarly upbeat. Ben Eppley,
head of European commercial real estate debt at Apollo, said
there has been an "an unlocking of transactions" in recent weeks
thanks to greater clarity over Brexit.
Ghada Sousou, CEO of real estate recruitment agency Sousou
Partners, said the business had been introducing UK real estate
companies to overseas investors.
It is also helping a private equity firm to build up a UK
real estate team, she said without naming the firm.
Uncertainties have by no means disappeared, however, with
the trade deal negotiations and broader global economic factors
having the potential to weigh on UK property.
"We are starting to hear from some European capital that
maybe it’s time to think about London," said Zach Vaughan, head
of European real estate at investor Brookfield, adding that it
may be too early to talk about a rise in transactions.
"If you are sitting on an investment committee in another
country, you will ask what happens if there is no trade deal?
More uncertainty is never helpful.”
($1 = 0.9034 euros)
($1 = 0.7688 pounds)
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop
Editing by David Goodman)