INVESTORS in Scottish commercial property are increasingly focussing their interests on high-quality, well-located assets, according to new analysis from Knight Frank.
The firm said this translates into fewer, but higher value deals. The independent commercial property consultancy’s research found that during the first half of 2025 there were 59 transactions in Scotland, with an average deal size of £12.7 million. That was the highest figure in a number of years, and 24% ahead of the average for 2020 to 2024.
The trend was particularly pronounced in Edinburgh, where the average deal size has gone up by 84% during 2025 compared to the average for the previous five years – reaching £26.3 million, while the average between 2020 and 2024 was £14.3 million.
Glasgow has also seen a noticeable rise in the average deal size this year – up 38%, from £11.3 million to £15.5 million. However, the average for the previous five years includes the record sale of 177 Bothwell Street in the city during 2022, which skewed the annual average.
In Aberdeen the change in average deal size has been less stark, with a 4% rise in the average transaction – from £7 million to £7.3 million. Like Glasgow, though, this was slightly tilted by one major deal: the sale of Union Square last year for £111 million.
Meanwhile, the average deal size outside of Scotland’s three main cities fell by more than half, -52%, from £6.6 million to £3.2 million. Overall investment volumes beyond Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen also dropped from a five-year annual average of £341 million to just £38 million over the first six months of 2025, implying a much slower year overall.
Knight Frank’s recent Scotland Report 2025 highlighted similar trends were taking hold in the nation’s occupier markets. The report found that prime rents in Edinburgh and Glasgow had grown by 30% and 28%, respectively, to £46 per sq. ft. and £41.50 per sq. ft. as occupiers concentrate their interest on the best available space.
New or Grade A accommodation accounted for around 66% of last year’s take-up in Scotland, with a particular emphasis on high-quality, amenity-rich, and well-located environments with flexibility in both lease terms and space usage.
Alasdair Steele, head of Scotland commercial at Knight Frank, said, “There is a clear shift in preference among investors towards quality assets in the best locations – generally speaking, city centres. That very much reflects what we’ve seen in occupier markets, as businesses opt for well-located offices with strong ESG credentials in areas offering easy access to a range of amenities.
“The first half of the year was relatively subdued, with so much macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. But there was still a reasonable level of activity for the right type of assets, which is borne out by the statistics. It’s a trend we expect to see continuing into the final few months of 2025; albeit, with a more stable global backdrop, we would also hope to see a broader pick up in activity too.”
