Irish investors accounted for £299 million sterling of the £3.5 billion of overseas investment in the British property market last year, according to a recent report by Sherry FitzGerald's international partner DTZ. Only US, German and Israeli investors topped the Irish spend.

The report was based on all recorded transactions of over £1 million. However, the real value of Irish purchases is obviously understated because of the huge volume of transactions under that value, the number of deals that go unreported and because some Irish investors acquire UK property companies which hold the investments.

Liam Lenihan, of Hamilton Osborne King, said a more accurate figure would be between £400 million and £500 million. He handled more than £120 million worth of business for clients last year and does not believe the figure will drop in the coming year.

Scotland is one of the most thriving property prospects in the UK at the moment, said Mr Lenihan. HOK has been involved in a lot of office, industrial and retail business in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the M8 corridor between the two cities. The British midlands and the south-east are two other areas the company has focused on. Two factors which may affect Irish investment in the UK this year are increasing UK interest rates and the high value of sterling. Despite higher interest rates, prices are still rising, and with sterling higher, the cost of equity in any deal has risen.

However, Mr Lenihan said more Irish institutions are starting to put money into UK property, which has helped to boost demand in the last couple of years and looks set to continue.

Bill Nowlan, an independent property consultant, said there was still better value available for investors in the UK than in the already pricey Irish market.

"Prices in Ireland have gone through the stratosphere," he said, "whereas prices in the UK are still realistic, and have longterm growth potential." However, he warned it was critically important to get local advice in the big and varied British market.

Roderick Downer, senior partner of Colliers Jackson-Stops, said a good motto to have is "play it safe". Go for the better locations, he advised. Whereas some areas may be risky, the golden triangle of the M3 and M4 corridor in the south-east is likely to hold its value well.

The company's Everest programme invested over £8 million last year in retail property, and a second round of investments of over £15 million will close the second phase early this year.

Mr Downer said though the rise in UK interest rates was not foreseen, the increasing buoyancy of the UK economy had countered it. It was this buoyancy which halted the search for overseas investment in UK residential property, as the domestic market was absorbing new developments.

As the UK economy grows more confident finding value for money may become harder - but the trend for large amounts of Irish money to look for a home in bricks and mortar across the Irish Sea looks set to continue this year.