Growth in Edinburgh and Glasgow office take-up

According to Savills, the office markets in Edinburgh and Glasgow saw combined take-up of 497,665 sq ft in the first six months of the year, up 15.3 per cent on the same period in 2025.

Glasgow accounted for approximately 60 per cent of deals, with the 300,280 sq ft transacted a significant increase on previous years. The figure is 61 per cent higher than the five-year average for the city, and 14 per cent higher than the 10-year average, Savills revealed.

It also reported that there were 76 deals completed, which again was 35 per cent above the five-year average. Edinburgh saw 58 deals, up six per cent on the 10-year average, representing 197,385 sq ft, broadly in line with previous years’ figures.

Across both cities, the flight to quality remains a strong theme with prime and grade-A space accounting for 63 per cent of all deals in Glasgow and 50 per cent in Edinburgh. Both figures were above the respective short-term averages, with Glasgow’s more than doubling.

Edinburgh’s most active sector was professional services - responsible for 35 per cent of the take-up for the first half of the year. The biggest deal in the city was EY taking 36,209 sq ft at 4 and 5 Haymarket Square.

In Glasgow, public services, education and health organisations took 102,249 sq ft of space across eight deals, including the Home Office agreeing to take 80,000 sq ft at 200 Broomielaw.

David Cobban, head of the firm’s Glasgow office and director in the office agency team, commented: “The office market in Glasgow has shown remarkable resilience over the past few years and the first six months of 2026 have demonstrated that the momentum is still building. At last, there is a good pipeline of refurbishments underway and completing with more planned, which will add much-needed, high-quality stock to the market.”

Mike Irvine, director in the office agency team in the Edinburgh office, said: “While the market still feels a bit subdued, there is a strong pipeline of demand being driven by lease events in forthcoming years and the continued drive towards quality by occupiers. These factors, coupled with limited supply of the type of stock occupiers are seeking, should result in continued rental growth.”

www.savills.com 

Pictured: David Cobban