According to an analysis by the international property consultancy Savills, the proportion of cross-border investment in European office property has risen to 39 per cent so far this year – compared with 36 per cent in 2025. Savills based its analysis on data provided by Real Capital Analytics, a data and analytics provider specialising in commercial property.
The property consultant attributes the rise in demand to a number of investors across Europe who remain active in the market. For instance, French property investment companies, known as SCPIs, are on a cross-regional buying spree. Office properties form part of a wide range of asset classes in which they are investing. The SCPIs are continually targeting new markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Some are considering entering the Scandinavian countries.
Buyers from Central and Eastern Europe are carrying out transactions within the region, whilst Czech and Hungarian investors are also increasingly active outside Central and Eastern Europe. Private investors are acquiring prime properties in various markets. These include the acquisition of ‘Capital 8’, a commercial and office complex spanning around 45,000 square metres in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, by Pontegadea, the family office of Spanish billionaire and Zara founder Amancio Ortega. In addition, there is a growing number of German investors from the insurance and pension sectors who are selectively bidding on properties.
Following a period of stable yields in the prime segment, higher long-term financing costs led to a rise in yields in selected cities in the third quarter of 2026, according to Savills. Average yields for prime office property in Europe rose by 13 basis points to 5.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2026. Warsaw, the central business district of Paris, Brussels, the City of London, the West End and Manchester saw a rise of 25 basis points in response to higher risk-free interest rates. The six leading German cities saw yields rise by between 10 and 20 basis points in the third quarter; Lyon rose by 50 basis points to 6 per cent, whilst Lisbon rose by 40 basis points to 5 per cent. In contrast, the yield in Stockholm fell by 15 basis points to 3.75 per cent, reflecting the strength of domestic capital targeting prime properties in that market. For example, the Swedish pension fund Alecta recently acquired an office portfolio in Stockholm worth 451 million euros.
Karsten Nemecek, Deputy CEO at Savills in Germany, says: “Office markets experiencing rent growth will help to maintain the appeal of European office property for investors. A shortage of supply and tenants moving into high-quality properties offer opportunities for repositioning in or near central business districts. New-build projects, on the other hand, remain largely unprofitable. Furthermore, employment growth in office-based roles in key knowledge hubs within the business services, technology and finance sectors is likely to underpin demand for new rental space.”
