A report by estate agent’s Savills revealed that more than £400m was invested in Cardiff commercial property to make 2017 a record year for the cities property investment. In 2016, a total of £298m was invested.

The main area of investment was the Central Square regeneration scheme, which accounted for £224.7mof the total, according to the December 2017 report.

Property within the leisure sector received a total of £43minvestment. Most of this was for two developments – the Stadium Plaza (which cost £20.5m) and the £22.1m Clayton Hotel.

Ross Griffin of Savills Cardiff commented:

“Cardiff remains a popular investment destination, particularly for those looking to place their money into the regional office market.”

He predicted that 2018 will see continued strong property investment activity.

Many investors are from overseas, but British investors are contributing millions to the Welsh economy by purchasing commercial property. There are a variety of commercial mortgage lenders who offer commercial property deal loans for investors, and competition between lenders has kept interest rates low.

In April 2018, the Welsh government will be increasing the stamp duty by 1% on commercial property sold at over £1m. This could deter some investors and cause a rush of buying before April 2018 by investors beating the deadline.

Rhys James, who is head of Cushman & Wakefield’s Cardiff office, is among those to have called for the Welsh government to reconsider the stamp duty rise, as he fears that the increase will depress the Welsh property market.