■  In the largest deal of the month, the Economist Group has sold the Economist Plaza for £125m, reflecting a 4.07% net initial yield and a capital value of £1,531 per sq ft. The interest, held leasehold from the Crown Estate, comprises 81,623 sq ft of office, residential, retail, restaurant and gallery accommodation arranged across three buildings. The transaction marks Tishman Speyers’ fourth known purchase within Central London in the last 24 months.

^{Source: Savills Research}

■  In an off-market transaction, CBRE Global Investors and Fabrica SGR, the advisor and asset manager of the Cicerone Fund has acquired 203–206 Piccadilly for £92m, reflecting a 3.08% net initial yield and a capital value of £1,387 per sq ft. The long leasehold interest comprises 66,317 sq ft of retail accommodation, single let to Waterstones until 2034 with five yearly rent reviews, the last of which was settled in April 2014. Meyer Bergman, the vendor, had acquired the property in January 2014 for £67.5m.

■  Pramerica has acquired 137–167 Fulham Road & 9 Pond Place, an eight-unit retail property for £45.8m, reflecting a 3.27% net initial yield and a capital value of £1,784 per sq ft. The parade sits west of the high-end retail shopping centre at Brompton Cross and is fully let to tenants such as Ralph Lauren, OKA, and Poltrona Frau.

■  So far this year we have recorded approximately £1bn of assets being openly marketed, accounting for 28 properties, which is broadly in line with the first two months of last year both in terms of volume and number of assets marketed. By our records, 2016 has witnessed 13 new open market investment sales priced at over £20m, eight over £50m and three over £100m. 2016 transaction volumes continue to outpace those of 2015; with February volumes alone being approximately 200% ahead of the same month last year (see Graph 1).

■  The IPD average equivalent yield currently stands at 4.64%, its second month at this level. The downward movement of this yield has slowed over the last 12 months illustrated by a compression of almost 50bps over 2014 compared to only 13bps over 2015 (see Graph 2).

^{Source: Savills Research}