Investment in Scottish commercial property increased by more than one-third (35%) compared to the same period last year during the first six months of 2021 as the market continued its recovery from the pandemic, according to analysis from Knight Frank.
The independent commercial property consultancy found there were £688 million worth of deals between January and June 2021, compared to £510 million during the first half of 2020 – the height of the UK’s first lockdown.
Investment fell marginally between the first and second quarters of 2021, from £371 million to £317 million (15%). However, this does not include deals with undisclosed values, such as the sale of Neptune Energy’s Aberdeen headquarters in May – the biggest investment deal in the city since the pandemic began.
Overseas investors have remained the biggest buyers of Scottish commercial property so far in 2021, making acquisitions totalling more than £300 million. Privately held property companies were involved in £115 million of deals, while UK institutions accounted for another £60 million.
READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Woes from dismal Tory immigration foolishness cannot just be talked away
Alternatives and mixed-use schemes were the most popular asset classes in terms of investment volumes – including the £80 million of funding for Moda’s Holland Park build-to-rent development in Glasgow – followed by offices and industrials. Knight Frank predicted that, with a range of high-quality stock still being marketed, a flurry of deals could complete after the summer.
Alasdair Steele, head of Scotland commercial at Knight Frank, said: “Scotland’s commercial property investment market is still recovering from the effects of the pandemic, but there are signs we are heading in the right direction as the economy re-opens. The biggest investment transaction in Aberdeen since the pandemic began is indicative of the fact that significant deals are beginning to conclude and, all things being equal, we should see more after the summer break.
“While alternatives and mixed-use schemes has been an active sector over the past year or so – particularly in the build-to-rent market – another notable trend has been the hardening of yields for retail warehousing. With more investors looking for exposure to these assets, we expect the trend for good quality retail warehousing to continue, while offices should gain momentum in the second half of the year as the occupier market recovers and overseas inspections are allowed once again.
“There is a great deal of interest in what Scotland has to offer, with comparatively strong fundamentals. Commercial property remains an attractive source of secure long-term income, which is still a precious commodity for investors.”
Cromarty Firth hydrogen plant to boost whisky distillers
Picture: Port of Cromarty Firth.
HYDROGEN fuel produced in the Cromarty Firth area could help local whisky distillers to reduce their carbon emissions under plans that have generated interest among industry giants.
Scottish port hails its first cruise ship arrival since onset of Covid pandemic
The Anthem of the Seas' arrival was welcomed by Peel Ports Clydeport director Jim McSporran and Inverclyde Council depute leader Jim Clocherty.
PEEL Ports Clydeport has hailed as “exciting” the arrival yesterday of the first cruise ship to call at Greenock since the “Covid crisis effectively closed down the cruise industry”.
Sign up
You can now have the new enhanced Business Briefing with the top business news stories sent direct to your inbox, and Business Week for the weekly round-up on Sunday, by clicking below:
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel