Activity in Scotland’s commercial property market increased second half of last year, prompting Alasdair Humphery, the chairman of the Scottish Property Federation, to declare that the country is “open for business.”
Mr. Humphery states that commercial sales grew from £841 million in the first six months of 2013 to over £1.3 billion in the second half of the year, raising hopes for further growth this year.
The recent increase in investment in Dundee, along with the sale of the Overgate Shopping Centre, illustrates that this upward trend is continuing. Land Securities sold the centre earlier this month to Legal & General Property for over £125m.
Humphery recently said that it is vital that Scotland retains its competitive edge as the property markets in the UK continue their recovery. Investors are now looking beyond London for places to buy and are broadening their outlook in asset classes.
This means it is crucial that Scotland remains able to compete effectively with other major economic centres, such as Manchester.
Humphrey went on to say that the Scottish government has a key role to play in ensuring that there is a “robust and competitive tax and regulatory environment” in place so that the country is not at a disadvantage when competing for investment dollars with the major English cities outside of the capital.
