Selective capital, auction opportunity, and what the investment market is really telling us

A market that has found its level

The period of acute uncertainty that followed the interest rate rises of 2022 and 2023 produced a significant repricing across most commercial property sectors. That repricing has largely run its course. Buyers and sellers have, in most cases, found a level at which transactions are happening again. The investment market is functioning.

What has changed alongside the repricing is the criteria buyers are applying. The assets attracting genuine competitive interest are those where the planning position is clear, the covenant quality is strong, the location fundamentals are sound, and the ESG profile does not create a liability that needs to be priced in. Assets that do not meet enough of those criteria are finding the process slower and the pricing conversation harder than vendors anticipated when they brought them to market.

That divergence between what is trading well and what is not is one of the defining features of the current investment environment. It is also one of the more useful lenses through which to read the UKREiiF investment programme this year.

What selectivity means for disposal strategy

For owners looking to dispose of assets that do not sit in the top tier of buyer demand, the question of route to market matters more than it did when capital was less selective and competitive processes were easier to generate. Private treaty processes that stall or produce disappointing initial offers are a more common experience than they were a few years ago. The expectation gap between vendor pricing and buyer appetite has not fully closed in all sectors and all locations.

In that environment, auction disposal often becomes the most efficient route. A well-managed auction process removes the uncertainty about whether a competitive field can be assembled. It sets a clear and transparent timeline, and produces a legally binding outcome at the point of exchange rather than a subject-to-contract position that can erode over subsequent weeks of due diligence and negotiation.

The assets that perform well at auction in the current market are not only those in difficulty; they include well-priced investment stock where the vendor wants certainty of outcome and is prepared to accept that the market will determine value on the day. That dynamic is worth understanding for any owner considering their disposal options.

What I expect UKREiiF to surface

The investment sessions at UKREiiF tend to be most useful when they move beyond the direction of yields and into the practical mechanics of how transactions are getting done. What structures are lenders accepting? How are due diligence timelines being managed? Where is the bid-ask gap narrowest? Is it still wide enough to be a genuine obstacle to deal flow?

Those are the conversations that translate most directly into better advice for clients trying to make disposal or acquisition decisions in the current market. I am expecting UKREiiF 2026 to provide a useful read on all of them.

Let’s meet up at UKREiiF

The disposal and acquisition conversation is one that benefits from a direct exchange of views rather than a one-way briefing. If you are attending UKREiiF and want to discuss investment strategy, disposal options, or how the current market is affecting the assets you are working with, I would be glad to meet in Leeds.

Contact [email protected] to arrange a meeting, or join us at our fringe event at the Black Cat Club for food, drinks, and a more open conversation about where the investment market is heading. Email [email protected] or complete the form below to register your interest.