LONDON—Central city investment activity totaled $6.54 billion (£4.26B) in Q1 2015, which is one of the strongest investment starts to a year, only marginally behind record Q1 2014 activity of $$6.61 billion (£4.3B) – according to research published this week by global real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield.

“There is a huge emphasis on global capital coming into London and this is set to continue throughout the remainder of 2015 and into next year,” said James Beckham the firm's head of London capital markets. “Occupational trends remain supportive, with low vacancy rates, strong tenant demand and, because supply is limited in the short term, we're predicting rental growth for the next three or four years. Coupled with the fact international investors want to come into a sterling-based real estate asset, as many want to avoid the current Eurozone uncertainty, London's appeal grows ever stronger.

“Asian investors have extremely high saving rates, and they are now applying those through their life companies into international markets, Beckham added. “The first port of call for this type of capital is of course London.”