Demand for Edinburgh offices rises by a third

Demand for serviced office space in Edinburgh rose by a third in the last quarter despite a hike in prices, new research has suggested.

Website Officebroker.com said the take-up of space in the Scottish capital had risen 33 per cent in the three months to June, compared with the same period last year. That was despite a 14 per cent fall in the number of new enquiries received by the firm.

According to its research, the average price per desk for serviced accommodation in Edinburgh rose to 260, against a UK-wide average of 180.

While take-up and price increased, the level of commitment shown by these newly placed businesses fell, with initial licence lengths falling from an average of ten months in the second quarter of 2010 to just five-and-a-half months.

It is thought that many firms are favouring shorter, more flexible deals with the option to take on more of less space as and when is required.

Chris Meredith, head of sales at Officebroker, said "The most noticeable finding of the report is that whilst new enquiries are down there are still a third more businesses taking up office space in the capital than during the same period last year - which speaks volumes."

He added: "This is despite office space in Edinburgh being significantly more expensive than anywhere else in the country - which points to the location being extremely important to firms.