Property firm sees signs of recovery in UK and France

Property advisory firm DTZ boosted recovery hopes in the sector today after seeing better levels of activity in its key markets of London and Paris.

The group, which operates in 148 cities and employs 10,000 people, added that its businesses in Asia Pacific continued to see good levels of business, particularly in China where it has been involved in a number of major deals.

In the UK and Ireland, DTZ noted increased activity in the investment and occupier markets, led by central London. This includes advising Macquarie Bank on the acquisition of 217,000 sq ft of space at British Land’s Ropemaker Place.

The company’s retail team has also been involved in a number of high profile deals across the UK in recent months, including advising Hammerson on its £297m (€325m) joint venture purchase of the Silverburn Shopping Centre in Glasgow.

DTZ said in a trading update today: “It is encouraging to report that in certain markets we see signs of growing confidence and activity, a trend we highlighted in our half year results in December.

“However, while there are signs of recovery in some areas of our industry it is too early to determine what extent this recovery will be sustained, particularly while economic uncertainty remains.”