Q2 take-up in Edinburgh appeared to be unaffected by Brexit, according to Knight Frank.
The firm said 180,000 sq ft of space was let in the city centre following a high number of lease renewals. This was in line with 2015, which saw record volumes.
Professional services and technology, media, and telecoms companies continued to dominate the market, accounting for about a third of take-up from April to June.
There were also a number of transactions for soon-to-be refurbished offices in the city, including Chris Stewart Group’s purchase of Blenheim House. The building is expected to bring around 34,000 sq ft. of new grade A space to Edinburgh city centre by late 2017 or early 2018.
Toby Withall, office agency partner at Knight Frank, said the outlook for the city remained positive despite political uncertainty.
“Several significant deals look likely to go ahead, which can only be a vote of confidence in the city,” he said. “However, it’s still too early to say what Brexit’s full impact is likely to be.
“The fundamentals of the market remain strong and the lack of grade A office space in Edinburgh city centre is pushing up rents – £33 per sq ft, previously considered ‘super-prime’, was achieved in the city during Q2. There is little coming through on the supply side and demand remains steady.”
He added: “There are a healthy number of requirements being circulated, although this should be treated with a note of caution – a decent proportion of these are potential renewals for Q1 and Q2 2017.”
Glasgow saw its best Q2 office take-up figures for almost a decade in 2016.
Knight Frank’s figures showed that 149,527 sq ft of office stock was let in the city during Q2 – the highest since 2007 and up 54% on the 97,000 sq ft let in the same period last year.
Activity was mainly driven by two large occupancy deals involving AXA Insurance at Glasgow’s Cuprum Building and Regus at Tay House.
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