Scotland has come out on top as the most in-demand region in the UK for offices, according to exclusive data from EG’s Propertylink listings platform and Rightmove.
Combined data sets from the two platforms reveal that Scotland was the only region of 11 analysed by the pair to show demand both up on pre-Covid levels and up year-on-year. Enquiries from businesses looking to take office space in Scotland were up by 11% on 2019 and 7% on 2022.
While the majority of locations were back to pre-Covid levels of demand – excluding London and the North East, which were still down 1% on 2019 levels – year-on-year demand across the rest of the UK remains subdued.
Overall, enquiries for office space across the UK have dipped by 8% year-on-year.
At a city level, Manchester and Glasgow are the hottest when it comes to office demand, with enquiries not only up by 13% and 26% respectively on the pre-Covid norm, but also up significantly on 2022. Trussonomics and the ensuing economic headwinds have failed to dampen desire for office space in the two cities, with enquiries up by 5% in Glasgow and 11% in Manchester.
Mark McQueen, partner in Shepherd Chartered Surveyors’ Aberdeen office, says the positive figures for Scotland reflected a growing flight to quality.
“What has become apparent within the Scottish office market of late is that grade-A, modern space with better energy efficiency ratings is where demand is being driven,” he said. “While demand for traditional cellular office accommodation remains steady, we have seen a trend towards occupiers favouring modern, open-plan or refurbished accommodation, with a ‘flight to quality’ where the market is driven by demand for an attractive working environment that offers comfortable working conditions for employees. And as, post-Covid, some occupiers move towards a hybrid working model, this has served to further refine their space requirements.”
At the other end of the scale, London and Bristol have failed to recapture demand, with enquiries down by 1% and 7% respectively on 2019 and 11% and 23% on 2022.
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