Scotland's Office Take-Up Bucks National Trend
Total office take-up across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen for 2016 is in line with last year’s performance, according to the latest Scottish Offices Report from Savills. Despite a subdued summer period following the EU referendum, 1.7M SF of office accommodation was let by the end of Q3. The figures set Scotland apart from the rest of the country—the UK average to date in 2016 was 10% below the same period in 2015 (excluding London and M25 markets).
Total take-up to the end of Q3 reached 772k SF in Edinburgh while Glasgow saw 761k SF. Aberdeen reached 147k SF.
Looking ahead, Savills says despite concerns over sustained low oil prices, the "spectre" of a second referendum on Scottish independence and the UK's relationship with the EU, the outlook for the Scottish occupational market remains positive. Top rents are likely to remain level during 2017 across all three cities, according to the firm.
New developments arriving in 2018 in Edinburgh and Glasgow will kick-start renewed rental growth. Meanwhile in Aberdeen, the market is showing green shoots after a quiet 18-month period as the oil price recovery slowly builds momentum.
