Office take-up in Aberdeen has almost reached the total figure for 2021 in only the first three months of this year, according to analysis from Knight Frank.
The commercial property consultancy found that 195,905 sq ft of office space was transacted between January and March 2022, compared to around 197,194 sq ft last year.
Take-up so far in 2022 has been buoyed by Shell’s 100,000 sq ft letting at the Silver Fin Building, which concluded in January.
The North Sea Transition Authority - formerly the Oil and Gas Authority - also took around 18,000 sq ft at 1 Marischal Square during the first quarter, while energy services company Ponticelli secured 17,900 sq ft at Abercrombie Court in Westhill.
Earlier this year, Knight Frank said a cautious sense of optimism was returning to the Aberdeen office market, supported by higher oil prices and the more workers returning to the office.
Matt Park, partner at Knight Frank Aberdeen, said: “Notwithstanding the uncertain wider economic picture, it has been a positive start to 2022 for the Aberdeen office market.
“At the beginning of the year, we expected to exceed 200,000 sq ft of take-up by the end of June, but we are very close to reaching that figure in just three months.
“The ongoing conflict in Ukraine, inflation being at its highest in 30 years, and rising interest rates will no doubt influence how the rest of the year progresses, but there are still grounds for optimism: more occupiers in Aberdeen are looking for space and, broadly speaking, their requirements seem to be larger.
“There is also a good level of activity for smaller requirements,“ he continued, adding: “These businesses are generally looking for flexible space and landlords that will work with them to provide space that matches their requirements.
“All things being equal, we expect more companies to assess their options in the remainder of 2022, with a significant amount of stock available to them in the city.”
Elsewhere, initial first quarter office market stats in Scotland from JLL revealed that the number of 5,000 sq ft and over deals in Edinburgh and Glasgow rose compared to the same quarter pre-Covid.
In the capital, there were more deals of 5,000 sq ft or over compared to the same quarter in 2019.
There was also an increase in the number of occupiers looking for space in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2019, with professional services and technology, media and telecom the most active sectors at the start of the year.
In Glasgow, there were more 5,000 sq ft and over deals compared to the same quarter pre-Covid and compared to the same quarter in 2021. In addition, take up across the city centre grew by almost 21,000 sq ft, compared with first quarter figures from 2021 and the city’s market is anticipated to perform strongly in the second quarter as well.
Glasgow saw almost 82,000 sq ft of take-up this quarter.
Craig Watson, director at JLL in Edinburgh, said: “It is clear from our Q1 research that the number of office requirements in Edinburgh is back up to pre-pandemic levels - this pent-up demand is not yet evident in transactional activity.
“Many occupiers are hesitant as restrictions are removed, waiting for their analysis on the ‘return to the office’ movement to run its course - this has undoubtedly delayed decisions and reduced transactions for this quarter.”
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