Glasgow office rents to hit £45 this year and here’s why
“Fully-fitted, immediately occupiable space now accounts for a significant share of activity” – Simon Capaldi, Knight Frank
Glasgow could see headline office rents hit £45 per square foot by the end of 2026, as occupiers compete for a dwindling supply of high-quality space.
Commercial property consultancy Knight Frank said rents could rise by more than 8 per cent from the current high of £41.50 per sq ft - with the availability of new top Grade A space continuing to diminish.
The firm noted that deal activity in the first half of the year had pushed the city centre’s Grade A vacancy rate down from 6.4 per cent to 4 per cent, as occupiers favoured “best-in-class” space over the abundance of available Grade B stock.
Take-up of office space reached almost 292,000 sq ft between January and June - the highest first-half total since 2018. At the same time, stock was withdrawn from the office market through conversion to alternative uses.
Knight Frank said occupiers’ growing preference for fully-fitted, immediately occupiable space continued, representing around half of the transactions concluded in 2026 so far. That was particularly true for smaller requirements, it noted, with the average deal size falling to 2,252 sq ft between April and June - down 36 per cent on the previous quarter.
Take-up accelerated in the second quarter, rising from 129,778 sq ft in the previous three months to 161,703 sq. ft. The Home Office’s 80,639 sq ft acquisition of 200 Broomielaw provided a boost to the figures.
Simon Capaldi, office agency partner at Knight Frank Glasgow, said: “Deal volumes in Glasgow city centre have held steady in the first half of the year, with office take-up the strongest it has been since 2018.
“While a few large deals have influenced that headline figure, what is really driving the market beneath that is the shift in what occupiers expect. In turn, we expect that to push the headline rent up to £45 per sq ft by the end of the year.
“Fully-fitted, immediately occupiable space now accounts for a significant share of activity, helping businesses reduce upfront capital expenditure, speed up decision-making, and streamline the entire occupation process,” he added.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.