The state of the UK commercial property market has been
described as a 'safe haven' for potential investors in comparison
to other European countries, following recent research by the
CBRE.

Amid financial problems concerning the Eurozone the UK continues
to provide some stability, with Central London still the standout
performer. There has been significant investment in the West End
and subsequently office space to let in this
sub-sector has grown 0.4 per cent overall.

Investors will be looking at the continued economic problems and
political instability in the Eurozone, particularly in Greece, with
particular interest as they seek the safest return on
investment.

Nick Parker, senior analyst of economics and forecasting at the
CBRE, said: "There is far greater polarity in regional market,
which have seen a 50 per cent decrease in transactional volumes,
with occupier uncertainty and growing void rates putting investors
off the risk.

"In contrast, central London's West End market is performing
extraordinarily well."

The optimism in the commercial property sector has extended to
small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in East Anglia with almost
a quarter (23 per cent) predicting an increase in market activity
in the second half of 2011, according to a report from Lloyds TSB
Commercial.

Although expectations across East Anglia have improved, business
owners remain cautious about the recovery of the wider UK market.
Over half (51 per cent) of commercial property landlords in the
eastern region believe activity will remain static, while the rest
are split between improvement and decline (24 per cent each).

Barry Coote, relationship director for Lloyds TSB Commercial in
East Anglia, said: "While there is more overall positivity than
2011, the overwhelming message is that SME business owners are not
expecting a massive swing towards a vibrant market.

"This is not surprising with so many wider economic factors
still in play. From a bank perspective, while it would be nice if
this crucial sector of the property market were confidently
expecting 2012 to be significantly better than the latter half of
2011, that isn't going to happen without far more tangible evidence
of movement in the market.

"However, the slight swing towards a belief in an upturn in the
market and the fact that less people predicting a decline is a
positive sign."

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