Glasgow office lettings hit new high
Office lettings have hit a record high in Glasgow as companies review their requirements for working space, figures suggest.
The number of office lettings to complete in the city centre in the first three quarters of 2022 reached 84, according to research from Savills. This represents the greatest number of deals seen at this point of the year since the firm’s records began in 2013.
Quarter one to quarter three activity this year amounts to some 306,000 square feet of office space.
Property experts said the increased activity has seen occupiers prepared to pay higher rents in exchange for well designed, energyefficient space already fitted out and including furniture to allow occupiers to move in immediately. Some 65 per cent of deals in 2022 involve sub-3,000 sq ft floorplates.
Savills said occupiers were choosing the most efficient options – higher quality, smaller offices.
The level of demand has seen refurbished grade B offices that offer smaller floorplates letting well, with deals at 24 St Vincent Place, The Ink Building and The Beacon highlighting this trend, Savills added. Rents on this style of small refurbishment are achieving up to £30 per sq ft with headline rents for new grade A offices about to reach £36 per sq ft.
Colin Mcghee, office leasing director at Savills Glasgow, said: “Average rents are strengthening as occupiers continue to show demand for well designed, fit-for-purpose offices.
"This weight of demand is unlocking potential to repurpose tired and redundant offices, by cutting up floorplates to provide for a range of business sizes."