Edinburgh’s commercial property market must deliver scale if the city is to keep pace with the pressures of economic success, according to Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (“TFT”), independent property and construction consultancy, in new research published today.
‘The role of property in delivering Edinburgh’s economic potential’, the latest research by ThinkBarn commissioned by TFT, makes it clear that the continued economic evolution of Edinburgh depends on the city’s ability to deliver continued improvements in productivity and growth.
This includes planning for and building a range of business and residential accommodation, as well as the necessary range of schools with the community and transport infrastructure required for the 21st century.
The research paper continues, “constraints on costs since the financial crisis have added to the pressure to think differently in Edinburgh.” This includes evolving business models (more out-sourcing and a massive rise in start-ups), embracing technology to reduce reliance on location, and a workforce increasingly interested in a genuine work/life balance – Edinburgh is one of the UK’s top locations for registered freelancers.
Neil Wotherspoon, lead partner at TFT Edinburgh, said:
“For Edinburgh to continue to be the destination of choice for Scotland – and the UK’s – service sector projects, it must be alive to the very real threats just around the corner. We are already seeing a perfect storm as demand for office space significantly outstrips supply. What the city is yet to develop is flexible ‘touch-down’ and shared workspace to accommodate Edinburgh’s growing army of freelancers particularly in the creative and tech-media-telecoms sectors.
“With four world-class research universities, an exceptionally youthful demographic and an already highly skilled employment base; the signs are there for yet more domestic and overseas inward investment. What we need to see is much better planning on the property side so the right sort of business and leisure developments get underway to meet the modern requirements of Edinburgh – the phoenix – that is leading the way in encouraging new sectors into the gaps that the financial services sector left behind.”