According to a new forecast, specialist property investment is
likely to exceed £10bn in 2015, and will account for around 20 per
cent of the UK's total commercial property market by the year
2020.

The core specialist sectors - healthcare, hotels, student
property and automotive - represent a constantly increasing share
of the current commercial market.  The trend is likely to
continue for the foreseeable future, driven by factors such as the
UK's ageing population, the increase in the total number of
students as well as growth in car sales.

The survey, which was carried out by Knight Frank, suggested
that there is a strong desire to boost allocations to non-core
commercial assets, with the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in
particular seen by many as being a 'sleeping giant'.

Darren Yates, Head of Global Capital Markets Research for Knight
Frank, said:

"With improving occupier demand, easier access to finance and a
greater willingness to move up the risk curve, investors' appetite
for specialist property continues to increase.   Indeed,
for many investors, specialist property now forms an integral part
of a core portfolio."

Other points to arise from the new report include:

The ongoing rise of care homes, which are set to become the best
performing asset in the healthcare sector.

The likely increase of space efficient, funky hotel formats
within London.  Emerging hotel markets are expected to
continue to thrive, and it is likely that recovery in trading
performance will increase demand for secondary locations around the
UK.

The direct let market meanwhile is expected to be the best
performing segment in the student property market.

Yields hardening within the automotive sector.  2015 is
also expected to see the largest ever volume of automotive
investment transactions in the UK.

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