Investment Activity Falls In Scottish Commercial Property Market

New figures have revealed investment activity in the Scottish commercial property market has fallen during the second half of this year.

According to data from CoStar UK and sales figures from Registers of Scotland, analysed by the Scottish Property Federation (SPF), investment dropped 13% to £382 million in Q2 2016.

The office sector experienced the bulk of investment at around £205m worth of deals. In addition, retail received £120m of investment while industrial reported a total of £20m. Investment in mixed-use deals and other commercial transactions posted £40m for the quarter.


While investment activity was down, the value of sales increased by £200m to £819m. Edinburgh reported sales values worth £223m, a 68% increase from £132m in the first quarter. Glasgow also had a strong performance with £197m of total sales, including significant city centre retail deals.

David Melhuish, director of the SPF, said despite the EU referendum, it was encouraging to see sales remaining positive.

"We generally expect an increase in activity in the second quarter of the year after the traditionally low post-Christmas period, and it is good to see that sales held up in the run up to the EU referendum,"he said.

"The continued downwards movement of the investment market should not be overlooked though, and is a trend that is likely to continue into the next quarter.

"Scotland's commercial property market relies considerably on inward investment, and as we face an ongoing period of uncertainty, it is more important than ever that government and industry work together to encourage investment in our sector, which is a significant contributor to the Scottish economy," he said.

(LM/CD)