Buy To Let investment hotspots revealed by business service

Birmingham, Bristol and Leicester are seeing the fastest growth in Buy To Let investment according to new figures from a business insurance service.

The analysis of over 150,000 landlord insurance policies by Simply Business found investment in Birmingham increased 14.6 per cent from 2020 to 2021, followed by Bristol with a 12.7 per cent growth in investment and Leicester with an 11.8 per cent increase.

The service says landlords are increasingly choosing to invest in regions outside of London post-pandemic to attract a greater rental yield - and as a result London itself comes only seventh in the league table for buy to let investment growth. 

The analysis suggests that UK landlords believe that buy to let prosperity will be well spread across the UK’s regions in 2022.

Alan Thomas, UK chief executive at Simply Business, comments: “The pandemic has contributed to a reshaping of the UK rental market. With rising house prices and an increase in average rent, there have been slower levels of growth in buy-to-let investment across the capital. 

“Instead, many landlords are now looking to other areas – particularly those with a high student population – where they can attract a greater rental yield.

“Contributing over £16 billion annually, landlords are a vital part of our economy. What’s more, the 2.6m landlords across the UK provide accommodation to over 4.4m households, so it’s encouraging to see growth in buy-to-let investment across all corners of the UK. 

“We can expect this to carry through 2022 as the country continues its recovery after Covid-19 and landlords look to make their next investment.”