Investment volume in Belgium in H1 2015 stood at €1.5bn, compared to €1.3bn in H1 2014. However, there was no big transaction in the first six months of 2015 compared to 2014. In H1 2014, the North Galaxy deal represented €475m, while the most important deal in H1 2015 was the Gateway (office - €140m) near Brussels airport.

The volume for H1 2015 was boosted by retail transactions, especially the Retail Warehousing Portfolio Rockspring (€129m) and the sale of the retail park Les Dauphins (€40m) in Wallonia. Other main transactions include the office Bastion Tower for €115m, the office Marnix 13-17 for €59.8 in Brussels’ Leopold district, and the semi industrial Campus FMCG for €58m in Bornem, Flanders.

H1 2015 investment market was mainly dominated by office properties, accounting for 45% of the total investment turnover. The retail market represented 29.5% of the total investment turnover, while industrial (10.5%) senior residence (9.5%) and hotel (5.5%) are far behind. Compared to H1 2014, the office investment market in H1 2015 stands 20% lower, whereas the retail investment market are 300% above the H1 2014 figures.

We expect total investment volume to reach over €3.5bn by year end. The investment pipeline for H2 2015 includes amongst others the Astro Tower (office - estimated €150m) and the Ellipse Building (office - estimated €200m) in the North District. Recently the Waasland SC and 50% of the Wijnegem SC (as part of the French/Belgian retail portfolio Celsius) just traded for over €750m. This will boost the total investment volume during H2 2015. Furthermore, we expect other shopping centres such as the Galeries Saint-Lambert in Liege to trade during H2 2015.

^{Source: Savills European Research}

The Brussels Capital Region and Flanders remain the most attractive areas for buyers in H1 2015, accounting for 32.5% and 40.5% of the total volume, respectively. The market remains dominated by domestic investors who accounted for 64.5% of the investment volume. However, we can see that Asian investors are attracted by the Belgian market. The Chinese sovereign fund CIC (China Investment Corporation), together with AEW Europe, has just acquired the Celsius retail portfolio from CBRE Global Investors, while other Asian investors are also looking at the prime office towers (Astro Tower and Ellipse) which are on the market in Brussels.

^{Source: Savills European Research}

Prime office yields remain stable, at 5.75% for buildings with standard 3/6/9 years leases, although yield compression can be observed. Prime office yields on long-term lease stand at around 4.25%, which is an all-time low.