Demand for grade-A office space in the Scottish city has been particularly strong, with businesses from the financial services sector among those most keen to expand their presence or establish a new operating base in Glasgow.
According to Colliers International’s latest figures, a total of 263,545 square feet of Glasgow office space was freshly occupied over the course of 2010, and the first half of the year saw the strongest levels of rental activity.
The cost of renting space in central Glasgow remained roughly unchanged over the course of 2010, with companies including Royal & Sun Alliance and NFU Mutual adding to their office stocks and taking advantage of relatively low rates.
See examples of office spaces to let in Glasgow here
Despite apparently positive data for the Glasgow office space market in 2010, analysts at Colliers are cautious about the sector’s prospects this year, and are raising concerns about the impact of impending public-sector spending cuts across the UK.
“We fully expect the public sector to divest itself of further office space over the next 18 months, as and when leases expire,” Guy Grantham, director of research and forecasting at Colliers International, told Scotland On Sunday.
Colliers International has 13 office bases in the UK and almost 500 worldwide. The commercial real estate advisory company recently reported that central London’s office market saw a 40 per cent increase in take-up over the course of 2010, with the West End seeing the strongest growth in demand.
Editor’s notes: In 2022, the total amount of space taken in Glasgow through office lettings deals was 409,200 square feet.
The 10-year average take-up had grown to 671,400 square feet, so 2022’s figure was 39 per cent below that average.
This was partly due to a lack of pre-leasing deals in the year compared to previous years, as well as a slowdown in leasing activity caused by uncertainty across global markets.
For the very best office space in Glasgow, headline prime rents had grown to £36.00 per square foot.
In terms of take-up, Q4 2025 was 32 per cent above Glasgow’s five-year Q4 average.
This contributed to the full-year take-up totalling 433,781 square feet across 137 transactions, representing the highest annual total take-up on record for the Glasgow office market.
It was reported that Glasgow had maintained the momentum of 2025, with a positive first quarter of 2026, recording 139,900 square feet of office lettings.
Prime office rent in Glasgow remained at £41.50 per square foot per annum at the end of Q1 2026.