Hotel sales helped drive a rise in investment into Scottish commercial property in the last three months.

Investment reached £320 million in the second quarter of the year, which is up from the £250m recorded in the first quarter, according to Colliers’ Scotland Snapshot.

However, it is 35% below the five-year quarterly average of £490m for Scottish commercial property.

With 30 deals completed in the second quarter, the average lot size stood at £10.7m, up from £8.6m in the first quarter and only slightly below the five-year average of £11m.

The report also states that the investment total for the first half of the year was £570m, 66% down on the first-half 2022 figure.

Hotels accounted for 35% of all investment activity by value in the second quarter to reach £110m, up from only £10m transacted in the first quarter.

The largest transaction in the quarter was the £85m sale of The Caledonian in Edinburgh to Henderson Park.

The boost to volumes also meant that first-half 2023 investment was up by 93% on first-half 2022 levels.

Oliver Kolodseike, director in the research and economics team at Colliers, said: “As with all markets across the UK, Scotland is no stranger to the limiting impact that high interest rates, cost of living and the cost of construction is having on the market.

"While there’s no silver bullet that can help, it would seem we are reaching peak in interest rates and as such some pressures should ease as we head towards next year.”

Offices accounted for a 28% share of investment activity, with volumes reaching £90m in the second quarter, up from £40m in quarter one.

Nine assets changed hands in the second quarter, up from the six in the first quarter, but down on the five-year quarterly average of 12. The largest deal in the second quarter was the £36m sale of Glasgow’s 191 West George Street to Corum.

Elliot Cassels, director in the national capital markets team at Colliers Scotland, said: “Whilst the vast majority of investor appetite is for ‘beds and sheds’ there is still appetite for all sectors - but at adjusted prices to reflect the market."

Retail investment reached £50m in quarter two, accounting for 17% of all commercial real estate investment volumes. This figure is down from the £110m recorded in quarter one. Five assets traded during quarter two, the largest of which being Realty Income Corporation’s £31m purchase of Auldhouse Retail Park in Glasgow.

Industrial volumes came to a standstill in the second quarter at below £10m. In quarter one, £90m was transacted but the £100m recorded between January and June was 70% below the corresponding 2022 figure.

Soho House reveals plans for first Scottish location in Glasgow

Soho House, a group of private members’ clubs with venues across the world, is to open in Glasgow next year, The Herald can exclusively reveal. 

The first Soho House in Scotland will be located just off George Square in the former Parish Halls building on George Street, overlooking Glasgow City Chambers. The redevelopment of the A-listed building forms part of the £100 million Love Loan urban regeneration project which is taking shape in Glasgow city centre.

Scotland's public finances improve thanks to surge in North Sea cash

Scotland’s public finances dramatically improved last year thanks to a surge in revenue from North Sea oil and gas amid the energy crisis.

The annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) report showed the country’s notional deficit fell from 12.8% of GDP in 2021/22 to 9% in 2022/23. The fall compared to the UK deficit remaining static at 5.2% of GDP.