Take-up

Q4 2021 take-up, totalling 83,622 sq ft, was 97% above the Q4 2020 total. This took annual 2021 take-up to 539,159 sq ft which was just 16% below the ten-year average.

Grade A take-up of 48,870 sq ft accounted for 58% of total take-up in Q4 2021. This represented a significant improvement on the Q4 2020 Grade A proportion of 14%. Furthermore, this was just 8% below the Grade A share of take-up for Q4 2019 which equated to 66%. This demonstrates the progress of the market's recovery towards pre-pandemic levels.

Supply

Total supply increased by 99% in 2021 to a total of 1,482,306 sq ft. Furthermore, Grade A supply increased to 764,633 sq ft in the city centre by the end of the year.

This occurred in part due to the introduction of new developments into the supply total. This includes the completions of 94,000 sq ft at Cadworks, 96,000 sq ft at 2 Atlantic Square and 305,000 sq ft at 177 Bothwell Street.

Take-up by business sector

The Public Services, Education & Health sector was the most active sector this year, accounting for 25% of overall take-up. This includes the lettings of 75,000 sq ft at Buchanan Wharf to Student Loans Company and 49,000 sq ft to Transport Scotland at 177 Bothwell Street.

Elsewhere, it was also a strong year for the Professional sector, recording 84,000 sq ft of take-up which equated to 16% of the overall total.

Rents

Prime rent increased by 8% in 2021, which currently stands at £35.25 per square foot. Furthermore, the prime rent in the market has increased by 18% since 2015. Equally, average Grade A rents have increased significantly over the past six years. The average Grade A rent in 2021 was £28.05 per square foot, representing a 5.8% increase on 2020 and 7.2% on 2019.

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