Savills said global investment was uneven in the first quarter of 2026, with US investment up more than 20% year-on-year, EMEA down 4% and Asia Pacific up 16% on a constant currency basis, and its Commercial Transactional Advisory business delivered a solid first-quarter performance with healthy pipelines.
In Residential Transactional, Savills said UK transactions agreed in Q1 rose 1% year-on-year driven by a 13% increase in London while activity outside London lagged and buyer and seller caution has lengthened completion timeframes.
In the Middle East, approximately half of the region's underlying profit is Transactional and primarily from residential sales which have slowed materially during the crisis, and the region accounted for approximately 5% of Group underlying profit before tax in FY25.
Less Transactional businesses, including Property and Facilities Management, Consultancy and Savills Investment Management, continue to perform well and are benefitting from last year's restructuring which is improving margins.
The Group currently expects the acquisition of Eastdil Secured to complete around the end of July, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
Savills said the market remains characterised by tight prime supply, rising rental values and improving debt market liquidity, and that geopolitical uncertainty may extend timeframes for capital advisory transactions while a timely resolution could strengthen activity in the second half.
On that basis the Board continues to expect the Group to perform in line with its expectations for 2026 with the split of underlying profits between the first and second half likely to be broadly similar to 2025.
The Group will report its half-year results for 2026 on 13 August.
