Glasgow named one of Europe’s top green cities for property

Glasgow has been named one of Europe’s top green cities for property, living up to its name as the “dear green place” ahead of COP26 taking place in the city in the coming weeks, according to a new report from Knight Frank.

The independent global property consultancy’s annual Active Capital report ranked Scotland’s largest city among the top 20 major green cities for real estate in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Glasgow performed particularly well for the availability of public transport, its amount of green space, and its number of green-rated commercial buildings – which came in at around 100.

Glasgow ranked highly for availability of public transport, and its number of green-rated commercial buildings, for example. Picture: John Devlin.

John Rae, head of Knight Frank Glasgow, said: “It is fitting that Glasgow is recognised as a leader in sustainability as it prepares to host the COP26 climate change conference.”

He also cited increased awareness of environmental impact driving demand for green buildings. “We have had more conversations with investors in the last 18 months about the sustainability and ESG – environmental, social and governance – qualities of properties in Scotland than ever before.”

Additionally, Knight Frank predicted a resurgence of investment flows into real estate. Alasdair Steele, head of Scotland commercial, said international investment has been strong in Scotland in previous years – and will regain momentum.

He added: “Prime offices are likely to be the main target along with some of the large build-to-rent schemes that are under way in Scotland’s Central Belt. The occupier markets in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been remarkably robust during the pandemic, while the rise of retail warehousing and industrials has been inexorable, with a range of assets already trading and more deals likely to follow soon.”

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