A report from Colliers International on global capital flows into European commercial real estate confirms that Germany overtook the United Kingdom as the most active market in H1 2017 but shows that the United Kingdom fought back in the third quarter and that Spain is increasingly attractive to international investors — until, perhaps, the spectre of Catalan independence loomed large.

The report, Capital Flows: Developing not Cooling, demonstrates that capital flows into real estate globally remain very strong, with H1 2017 acquisition levels at $611 billion (€524 billion), matching those of 2016 and 2015. However, there was a strong divergence between regions, with higher investment volumes in Asia Pacific, driven largely by the re-orientation of Chinese capital, and activity in the Americas and EMEA showing signs of late-cycle cooling.

“Despite regulatory controls, Chinese capital looks likely to remain a feature of the investment landscape globally,