Commercial property investments in Aberdeen headed back towards pre-pandemic levels during 2022, totalling £143.06 million, according to Knight Frank.
The property giant said deals in the Granite City last year were the highest since 2019, when there were transactions totalling £204.24m.
Last year’s total includes the £20m an overseas investor paid for Equinor House at Prime Four business park.
Glasgow saw the highest investment volumes of Scotland’s three largest cities at £468.54m.
Edinburgh was not far behind, with deals worth a total of £463.57m.
The cost of debt appears to be easing and there is still a deep pool of buyers looking at Scotland and the wider UK to invest.”
The Scottish total hit £1.66 billion, up slightly on 2021, in the best year since 2019.
Nearly £500m of office space was traded, followed by industrials, alternatives, and retail which accounted for about £300m each.
Knight Frank said overseas investors continued to account for the majority of deal activity, with a 52% share of volumes during 2022.
The purchase of 177 Bothwell Street in Glasgow by Spanish investment house Pontegadea was a record office transaction in Scotland, worth more than £200m.
© Øivind_HaugProperty companies were “by far the second most active buyers”, representing 35% of all deals, Knight Frank added.
Alasdair Steele, head of Scotland, commercial, at the company, said: “Investors had a lot to contend with, between the conflict in Ukraine, rampant inflation, interest rates rising, bond and stock market volatility, and political developments.
“Yet, despite all of that, Scotland’s commercial property market has continued its upward trajectory from the lows of the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic nearly three years ago.
“There are always going to be challenges on the horizon, but after a particularly difficult period there are grounds for selective optimism for the year ahead.
“The cost of debt appears to be easing and there is still a deep pool of buyers looking at Scotland and the wider UK to invest.”
Mr Steele added: “Aberdeen has been buoyed by the sustained high oil price, while the deal for 177 Bothwell Street underlines Glasgow’s attractiveness.
“Meanwhile, Edinburgh’s occupier market dynamics continue to bolster interest in the city.”
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