Tech transition

Glasgow's workforce is increasingly data hungry. The city’s well-established technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector has been its second largest contributing business area by take-up over the last five years, after the professional sector. In our 2016 What Workers Want survey we found 74 per cent of Glasgow's workers consider good quality wireless technology in their office to be of high importance, up from 50 per cent in 2013. However, only 30 per cent are satisfied with the quality of wireless technology, the lowest proportion in the UK. Ensuring your property offers the best fibre connection using infrastructure providers such as CityFibre is key. A WiredScore certified building provides transparency of connectivity information to tenants.

The hunt for talent

Glasgow retains 46 per cent of its graduates upon leaving university, the third highest percentage of the UK’s regional cities. Developers must provide the right space to ensure occupiers can attract and retain younger staff by considering the provision of collaborative workspace and cycle and shower facilities.

Only 1.3 per cent of Glasgow's workers currently commute to work by bicycle, the lowest proportion of the key regional cities (source: Census). Landlords are beginning to recognise the importance of providing cycle and shower facilities to attract workers. Examples include FORE Partnership's Cadworks which will provide Scotland's first cycle-in office on its completion in 2020. 

Flexibility

As occupiers look to personalise their offices more and more, landlords are now considering shell and core schemes, offering occupiers the flexibility to complete their own fit-out or choose from a selection of finishes. For the landlord, this can improve both sustainability and delivery time and can save fit-out costs for the tenant.

However as average lease lengths across the UK regional office markets continue to decline (they fell 6 per cent in 2017 on the previous year), the challenge for landlords now is to provide flexibility in office design while striving to create a community where workers want to stay and tenants want to renew.

Smaller floorplates

Glasgow faces a structural shortage of good quality, smaller floorplate stock with only 14 months of sub 5,000 sq ft lot size supply remaining in the market. Landlords should consider sub-dividing their floorplates in order to accommodate tenants searching for smaller lots, otherwise, tenants in search of Grade A space will have no choice but to move into serviced offices.

Length of commute

Again, according to What Workers Want, 84 per cent of Glasgow workers consider their length of commute to work to be of high importance and 81 per cent consider good public transport connections to be of high importance. Offices located in close proximity to Glasgow Central and the redeveloped Queen Street stations will achieve the strongest rents.

Further information

Read more Spotlight: Scottish Office Market