Cross-border investors re-engage with European office market

Savills' latest research indicates a resurgence of cross-border investment in European offices.

Mike Barnes - Savills

French SCPIs (real estate investment funds) are particularly active, continuing to invest in UK regional cities, expanding into CEE, and exploring Nordic markets for higher yields.

Several other nationalities have also significantly increased their office investments in 2025 compared to their five-year averages: Norwegian buyers (+297%), Japanese (+264%), UAE (+51%), Czech (+61%), and Spanish (+27%). These groups remain active in 2026.

Savills observes that banks are increasingly willing to finance high-quality Central Business District (CBD) office properties, which is gradually boosting liquidity for larger transactions. For instance, Spanish office investment surpassed €1 bn in Q1 2026, largely due to the sale of Barcelona's Edificio Estel office building from Bain Capital and Freo Group to InmoCaixa (a deal Savills advised on). Similarly, the €243 mln sale of 83-85 Avenue Marceau to Hines in Paris further demonstrates improving market liquidity.

In Q1 2026, average prime European office yields remained stable at 4.9%. Yields compressed by 20 basis points (bps) in Bucharest, and by 25 bps in Barcelona, Madrid, and Manchester. Conversely, Prague saw a slight outward movement of 10 bps.

Mike Barnes, European Office Research director at Savills, said: “Overall, the occupational fundamentals remain attractive for investors as average prime office rents rose by over 4% last year and we anticipate a further growth of 3.7% this year, reflecting an undersupply of good quality stock. Higher steel prices - on top of already existing tariffs - will likely push back the development pipeline until well into 2027, as developer margins are squeezed.”

James Burke, director, Global Cross Border Investment at Savills, added: “According to RCA data, over €3 bn of office stock across continental Europe was acquired for redevelopment during 2025, the strongest year since 2021. Across offices, we are seeing intra-European buyers being particularly active and we are starting to observe an increase in outbound German institutional capital to further deepen the buyer pool.”