Global investment giant Hines is getting back into the office investment market in the UK and Europe.

A clear divergence is emerging across Europe's office markets, with tenant demand concentrated on high-quality buildings, shifting the market toward prime assets and creating a “selective but compelling buying opportunity” for top-tier European offices, according to new research from Hines.

In markets where new supply is limited, particularly across core central business districts such as London’s West End, competition for high-quality space is intensifying, and this is being reflected in market activity, signalling investor confidence is returning, Hines added.

In its European Prime Office Rebound report, Hines found that tenant demand is increasingly concentrating on high-quality, prime locations, even as overall space requirements decline. At the same time, supply is tightening, with office development starts down 80% from their recent peak and new, high-quality stock availability limited across key European markets.

Hines said this imbalance is driving sustained rental growth, with prime rents across Europe’s weighted EU-15 index up 35.6% since the fourth quarter of 2019, according to CBRE data.

The report also found that while hybrid working had reduced total demand, it had sharpened occupier preferences and accelerated a flight to quality, with this bifurcation creating a clear divide between prime and secondary assets.

“The biggest risk right now is treating office as a single asset class,” Hines co-Head of Investment Management Alfonso Munk said in a statement.

“The dispersion between assets is wide and still widening. In parts of the market, fundamentals have already turned; capital just hasn’t fully caught up yet. That gap is where we see opportunity.”

Hines said its recent investments reflect its conviction in selective opportunities for supply-constrained, high-quality assets. It has made several investments in trophy assets, including the new Paris headquarters for Goldman Sachs at 83 Avenue Marceau, acquired in February, and the repositioning of Barcelona's Diagonal Vertical tower, which reopened in December 2024.

Hines is also developing B'Ella Berlin, a 730K SF mixed-use project in the Schöneberger Linse district, scheduled for completion in Q1 2029.