Take-up

H1 2023 take-up totalled 135,000 sq ft which was 51% down on the ten-year H1 average. However, this demand was spread across 55 completed transactions which was 25% above the ten-year average for the number of completed H1 deals in the Glasgow city centre market.

The largest deal in H1 was the 21,000 sq ft letting to Transport for Scotland at George House. This was one of three deals over 10,000 sq ft in the first half of the year, as the market saw 65% of its deals for spaces in the sub-2,000 sq ft size band.

Supply

Total supply stood at 1.7m sq ft at the end of H1. In terms of how this is broken down, availability continues to be dominated by secondary space, with 61% of the total at the end of H1 being either Grade B or C rated.

With the refurbishment at Aurora now added to the supply total, Prime availability increased to 260,000 sq ft at the end of H1. However, Savills maintains that the top end of the market remains undersupplied in Glasgow, with just 0.6 years of Prime availability based on average Grade A demand.

Take-up by business sector

The ’Public Services, Education & Health’ sector was the most active sector in H1, accounting for 21% of overall take-up. This was spread across four deals and was largely driven by Transport for Scotland’s 21,000 sq ft letting at George House.

Elsewhere, ‘TMT’ was the second most active sector, accounting for 18% of overall take-up across eleven lettings. The largest deal from ‘TMT’ in H1 was the Q2 Grade A acquisition by iomart at 6 Atlantic Quay.

Rents

There was no change in the Prime rent in H1 2023, which currently stands at £36 per sq ft. This means that the prime rent has grown by 11% over the last five years. Further rental growth is forecast for the second half of 2023, with the latest projections expecting growth to £37.50 per sq ft in 2023, with rents reaching at least £42 per sq ft by the end of 2027.

Interested in other areas of the UK?

View all of our latest H1 2023 Occupational Office Data research here.