According to the Scottish Property Federation (SPF) Aberdeen was close to the forefront of a surge in commercial property transactions in Scotland during Q2, with activity in the Granite City hitting a three-year high of £201 million.
The research shows that Aberdeen had three transactions alone worth £178 million, with one being Legal & General’s purchase of the 335,000 sq ft headquarters of oil company Aker Solutions for £127 million.
Also enjoying a strong second quarter is Edinburgh, which had £231 million worth of sales in Scotland, returning the highest value for the country.
The picture is similar across the whole of Scotland, with figures revealing that value of commercial property sales increased by 56.6% from Q1, to reach £963 million. The SPF speculates that this surge could be due to investor confidence slowing down at start of the year in the run-up to the UK General Election.
The volume of sales also increased by 11%, rising from 854 in Q1 to 956 in Q2, including a marked increase in transactions over £5 million, which rose from 23 in Q1 to 34 in Q2.
Director of the SPF, David Melhuish, said: “Whilst the general economic commentary surrounding Aberdeen has focused on the impact of falling oil prices, it is striking to see that its commercial property market is going against the grain and retaining significant investment.”
He added that the figures demonstrate that Scotland’s commercial property market is growing in strength and value, reflecting growing business confidence in the country.
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