PSYCHE OF BRITISH INVESTORS UNVEILED – AND IT’S GOOD NEWS FOR THE UK ECONOMY

An independent survey of 2,400 UK investors, conducted by leading researcher OnePoll on behalf of specialist investment company Select Property, has revealed that there is growing confidence in the UK economy which is causing investors to become increasingly active.

The research found that 57% of the respondents are confident in the UK economy, while more than two-thirds (64%) consider the UK to be the safest place for investments and 40% believe it to be the most profitable global market. The statistics support the latest industry reports about the health of the UK economy from the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), and with less than a year to go until the general election these figures are a good indication of how effective recent government measures have been.

The most popular investment classes identified by investors are ISAs, stocks and property, although 7% said they have previously invested in unusual assets such as films, wine and stamps. The average budget when making a new investment is £30,200 while 15% of respondents said they regularly spend more than £60,000. 32% said that their investment budgets had grown over the past five years.

60% said that they are ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ in the UK property market and when asked which investment vehicle they would choose if they were given £100,000, more respondents chose real estate (40%) than any other asset. Unsurprisingly the most popular property types are buy-to-lets (44%) and family homes (43%) although quite a large proportion (21%) have invested in student accommodation.

To continue the theme of optimism, 60% of investors say they feel ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ about their investment portfolios and 53% of respondents believe their investments will perform better over the next five years. A third (33.5%) of all respondents said they are looking to make further investments over the next 12 months.

The results from the survey also highlighted that the gap between London investors and the rest of the UK continues, with Londoners standing out as the most confident and active investors. They have the highest average investment budget of £37,229, are most likely to have already invested in property (50%) and are also more likely to increase their investment portfolio over the next 12 months (44%). Londoners were also most heavily affected by the recent pension reforms with 31% stating that they had changed their retirement plans since the announcements which suggests that they may be more reactive and willing to alter their investment strategies.

Giles Beswick, Director at Select Property which commissioned the research, said: “Over the last six months it’s been clear to us that there has been a resurgence in the number of active British investors. The results from our research into UK investment trends confirms this and emphasises just how optimistic the mood is at the moment.

“The widespread confidence is a good indication that the majority of the population is now focusing on the future rather than dwelling on the past which will serve to further improve the health of the property market and economy in general.”

To read the full report from Select Property’s Investor Insight survey 2014 visit: http://www.selectproperty.com/property-insights/industry-research/investors-guide-uk-property/  

For press information or images, contact Lauren Sibley (lauren.sibley@selectproperty.com / 0161 322 2243) or Helen White (helen.white@selectproperty.com / 0161 322 2243).

Select Property is the UK’s largest seller of overseas investment property, having sold more than 9,000 properties to residents of more than 100 countries over the past 10 years.

Since 2004, Select Property has become Europe’s leading Dubai Marina property expert, as well as selling properties in Turkey, Egypt, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

In 2012 the CEO of Select Property, Mark Stott, together with Chris Oakes of award-winning residential homes developer Huntsmere, founded the Vita Student accommodation brand. To date, more than 1,200 Vita Student properties have been sold to investors from around the globe.