Glasgow’s headline office rent could reach £45 per sq. ft. for the first time by the end of 2026, as occupiers compete for the dwindling supply of high-quality space in the city centre, according to new research from Knight Frank.
The independent commercial property consultancy said the headline rent could rise by more than 8% from its current rate of £41.50 per sq. ft. – where it has held steady since 2025 – with the availability of new Grade A space continuing to diminish.
Deal activity in the first half of the year pushed Glasgow’s Grade A vacancy rate down by more than one-third (37.5%), from 6.4% to 4.0%, as occupiers favoured best-in-class space over the abundance of available Grade B stock.
Office take-up reached nearly 292,000 sq. ft. between January and June – the highest first-half total since 2018. At the same time, stock was withdrawn from the office market through conversion to alternative uses.
Occupiers’ growing preference for fully-fitted, immediately occupiable space continued, representing around 50% of the transactions concluded in 2026 so far. That was particularly true for smaller requirements, with the average deal size falling to 2,252 sq. ft. between April and June – down 36% on the previous three months.
Take-up accelerated in the second quarter, rising from 129,778 sq. ft. in the previous three months to 161,703 sq. ft.
The Home Office’s 80,639 sq. ft. acquisition of 200 Broomielaw provided a boost to the figures, representing around half of the total take-up in the second quarter. The largest transaction in the first three months of 2026 was Centrica securing 23,914 sq. ft. of Grade A space at 2 Atlantic Square at 31 York Street.
Simon Capaldi, office agency partner at Knight Frank Glasgow, said: “Deal volumes in Glasgow city centre have held steady in the first half of the year, with office take-up the strongest it has been since 2018. While a few large deals have influenced that headline figure, what is really driving the market beneath that is the shift in what occupiers expect. In turn, we expect that to push the headline rent up to £45 per sq. ft. by the end of the year.
“Fully-fitted, immediately occupiable space now accounts for a significant share of activity, helping businesses reduce upfront capital expenditure, speed up decision-making, and streamline the entire occupation process. Buildings like 5 Cadogan Street and Libertas House show how well this approach works, and it’s increasingly becoming the expectation among tenants – particularly at the smaller end of requirements.
“The recent downward trend in Grade A vacancy is encouraging and points to improving fundamentals in Glasgow, with leasing activity continuing to outpace the delivery of new stock. With limited new developments in the pipeline, existing vacant space will need to be refurbished, repositioned, or repurposed to meet current and future demand. All things being equal, pressure on supply only looks set to intensify, and landlords who invest now will be best placed to capitalise on that trend.”