Commercial real estate services firm Avison Young today published its latest research on regional office activity across the “Big Nine” markets (Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle).

Total city centre activity amounted to 352,419 sq. ft as occupational demand remains buoyant in the Glasgow office market.

The key office deal was to JP Morgan Chase who agreed a 272,800 sq ft investment at Argyle Street as they moved to consolidate technology operations. It was the fourth-largest deal across the Big Nine markets over the past ten years and boosts Glasgow’s credentials as a major financial services employer.

Alison Taylor, principal and managing director for Avison Young Glasgow, said: “Despite continued Brexit uncertainty, we anticipate that strong occupational demand in Glasgow will continue. This will be supported by large public sector requirements and the growth of the tech, health and quantum sectors.”

“Argyle Street and the surrounding area continues to attract significant levels of interest from developers and businesses, as seen by FORE Partnership’s Cadworks development, due to be completed in 2021 and of which Avison Young is one of the joint letting agents.”

While take-up in Edinburgh’s city centre was subdued in Q3, this was mirrored with an encouraging increase in out-of-town development and refurbishment. There has also been well above average investment activity, which is positive in light of ongoing political uncertainty which has impacted levels of activity. One of the deals highlighting continued buyer interest was the sale of Exchange Plaza which was sold by Murray Estates for £54 million.

Across the Big Nine markets, total city centre and out-of-town activity during Q3 amounted to 2.1 million sq ft, placing it just above the ten-year quarterly average, as was take-up for the year to date figure of 6.3 million sq ft. Although this is significantly short of the record levels of the last two years, it is at a similar level to the referendum year 2016, when the market was similarly affected by political uncertainty.

The second half of the year tends to show stronger activity, but Brexit has impacted on occupier decisions this quarter, particularly for small to medium-sized deals. There has also been a wide divergence in performance between regions this quarter with the largest cities performing well against the ten-year averages.