Glasgow office rent growth set for 13-year high

Glasgow’s office market is heading for its strongest year of rent growth since before the recession, with average rents expected to rise 6% by the end of 2019.

This rate of growth marks a quick turnaround from 2018 when gains appeared to be ebbing – in spite of improving fundamentals – and places Glasgow above each of the UK’s other major office markets (those containing 20m sq ft of office stock or more) by this metric.

Robust occupier demand has supported the rebound in rental growth, with almost 1.5m sq ft of positive net absorption recorded during the past two years, which combined with a lack of major completions, has helped to pull market-wide vacancies below 7.5%, their lowest level since 2007.

Glasgow’s City Core is tighter still – vacancies now sit at 6.5% and are on course for an 18-year low point as the likes of St Vincent Plaza and 191 West George Street either reach or near full occupancy. Meanwhile, a sizeable pipeline of occupier requirements is circling the submarket in which rents are predicted to grow by 8% this year.

However, Central Quay is expected to notch up the strongest growth, with rents there anticipated to rise by over 9% this year, aided by a flurry of lettings at Skypark.

The slightly longer-term outlook is positive too. Although gains are expected to moderate somewhat, our forecasts for the next one and three years put Glasgow among the major office markets with the best rental growth prospects.

Original article from CoStar.