LONDON (Bloomberg) — Sales of UK commercial property doubled in the fourth quarter of last year as funds started purchasing buildings after a two-year hiatus.

Investors acquired 458 buildings for £9.65 billion ($15.6 billion), up from 221 properties for £4.74 billion a year earlier, according to estimates by Stafford, England-based researcher Property Data.

"The final quarter saw the return of the institutions," said Mark Pickering, a director of Property Data, which compiles its figures from submissions from brokers. He estimates funds acquired £3.3 billion of real estate in the period.

UK-based property mutual funds registered net inflows of £1.27 billion from June to November, according to the Investment Management Association, after a 25-month slide in real estate values attracted investment from savers. In the preceding two years, funds were forced to sell properties to meet redemption requests from their investors.

Aviva Investors Property Trust, the UK's largest real estate mutual fund, acquired a shopping centre in Chester for £20 million in December, its first purchase in more than two years, after dealing with redemptions.