CB Richard Ellis puts the typical cost of renting office space in the Scottish capital at £44.50 per square foot, compared with £42.38 in what has traditionally been the capital of much of America’s economic prowess.
Edinburgh isn’t even Scotland’s largest city but its office space is out-pricing equivalent options in most of the UK and Europe, as well as the most active central business districts in America’s leading cities.
Reporting on the subject today, the Herald newspaper in Scotland has noted the problems that expensive office space is causing small firms in and around the city, with development planners being partly blamed for the situation.
“The latest official data suggests that there has only been a decidedly modest improvement in the performance of the planning system in Scotland, with fewer than half of all major business and industry applications being dealt with within the target period,” said David Lonsdale from the Scottish Confederation of British Industry.
Colin Borland from the Federation of Small Businesses added: “The FSB has argued that we need more appropriately sized and priced office accommodation for new starts and small, growing businesses.
“In many parts of the country, turning empty, redundant retail units into affordable office space could give town centres a new lease of life and make it easier for the home-based business to move to the next stage.”
Debate looks set to continue among those with an interest in Edinburgh office space but the price of offices in Manhattan could soon be on the rise if Colliers’ International’s recent assertion on rising demand in the New York business district turns out to be accurate.
Editor’s notes: In 2022, prime Grade A office space in Edinburgh cost £39.50 per square foot per year and, according to JLL’s Global Premium Office Rent Tracker, the equivalent quality office space in Midtown Manhattan reached the equivalent of £176.22 per square foot per year (exchange rate as of May 15th 2023), and was the second most expensive district in the world in which to rent office space.
There is an increasing number of alternatives to renting office space in Edinburgh on conventional leasehold terms. These flexible office space and workspace solutions are operated by the flex space providers profiled in this directory.
There are also over 50 flex space providers in Manhattan that provide these alternatives including private serviced offices, shared coworking lounges and managed office suites.