Qatar investors are in the spotlight again because of their trophy purchases in London, having just closed a £250 million deal on a Mayfair development, and they are not the only ones, with more deals in the capital expected this year.

"Qatar has emerged as a new global powerhouse and is expected to be the largest source of cross-border real-estate capital during 2010," said property adviser Jones Lang LaSalle.

Qatar's wealth is based on the rapid expansion of its gas industry over the past 10 years and, in response to a windfall of revenue, the government has created a number of major investment vehicles including Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar Holding, Qatari Diar and Barwa, which have been buying up prime London properties and stakes in companies.

Recent purchases of property in central London by Qatari investors suggest that they have called the bottom of the market and are still benefiting from the weakness of the pound.

Qatar, which operates some of the world's largest sovereign-wealth funds, last month paid £1.5 billion for Harrods, one of the world's most famous department stores. Late last year, Qatari investors bought the U.S. Embassy building in Mayfair for $664 million, and they paid almost £1 billion in 2007 for the 13-acre Chelsea Barracks site in the heart of London.

Qatar also has a 24% holding in Songbird Estates PLC, which owns most of London's second financial district, Canary Wharf.

Jones Lang La Salle expects more deals. Qatari investors are preparing to make an offer on London hotel the Grosvenor House, said a person familiar with the matter. The property is expected command a price tag of about £500 million. According to media reports, Qatari investors also are looking to buy a share in landmark Savoy Hotel.

Barwa, which is 45% owned by Qatari Diar, the property unit of the country's sovereign-wealth fund, will pay Land Securities Group PLC £225 million immediately for Park House and £25 million when building work is completed. It will also meet all of the construction costs.

On top of that, Barwa will pay a share of the profit to Land Securities, the U.K.'s largest landlord and developer. Based on current expectations for office and retail rental values, Land Securities' profit share is estimated at about £33 million and is capped at £50 million.

Land Securities started developing Park House, at 453/497 Oxford Street, in May and acted directly on the sale. According a person close to the company, Barwa started looking at the Mayfair site six months ago.

The project, which covers an entire city block of just over an acre on a prime Mayfair site, with frontage onto Park Street, North Row and Oxford Street, would have cost Land Securities £412 million, of which the remaining capital expenditure to complete the plan was £179 million. Park House is a development of 330,000 square feet comprising offices, retail space and residential accommodation.

Land Securities will still complete the development, acting as manager responsible for delivery of the project. Completion is due in November 2012.

"The investment demonstrates our commitment to Europe as part of our growth strategy and signals our interest in strengthening our portfolio interests in London," said Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad, chairman and managing director of Barwa.

The acquisition is the first major wholly owned investment made by Barwa in the U.K. Barwa also has a minority investment in The Shard building in London and is currently in the process of taking over Qatar Real Estate Investment Co. Barwa is looking for other mixed-use opportunities of a similar size in London, which it will finance with debt and cash, depending on how much cash banks are willing to lend, according to a person close to the company.

"Park House is the largest speculative development in Mayfair for a generation and this sale enables us to realize the majority of our profit ahead of schedule, with significantly reduced risk and with no capital employed," said Robert Noel, managing director of Land Securities' London portfolio.

A few things are given: Qataris want to buy more in Europe, they love London's Mayfair, they have the money to pay prices that London sellers want.