Property Consultant DTZ Etimates £40 Billion in UK Property Outsourcing Over Next Five Years

Times Online - May 03, 2004

DTZ, the property consultant, said that companies and public sector organisations sold off more than £20 billion of real estate in the last five years but that this would increase as more businesses opted to cash in on the value of their property assets.

DTZ said that sale and leaseback deals accounted for almost 50 per cent of property outsourcing deals over the last two years. DTZ also expects local authorities and other public sector bodies to sell off more of their property holdings. It estimates that UK local authorities own £110 billion of property, excluding council houses. The property consultant said that councils such as Birmingham and Southwark both have larger property portfolios than some of the major listed UK property companies.

Property experts believe that as many indebted local authorities come under increasing pressure to manage their assets more effectively, they will be tempted to sell off property as way to ease financial pressures. Bradford City Council is one of the first council’s to consider outsourcing its property portfolio. Earlier this year it drew up a shortlist of bidders, including Land Securities, the UK’s largest property company, to own and manage its property portfolio.

DTZ said that 72 per cent of the estimated £3.9 trillion of commercial property in Europe was owned directly by businesses and public sector organisations rather than by property companies or by investors. Sphere: Related Content