Market for office space on the rise

The office market in the Capital has started to gather pace in the second quarter of the year, agents said today.

In the three months to the end of June, 153,000sq ft of office space was taken up by occupiers, which was slightly above the amount snapped up in the first three months of the year.

The biggest deals of the period included a new H&M call centre, a new headquarters for the charity Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland and an office for Baillie Gifford.

The overall number of enquiries in the second quarter was similar to the same period last year, although there were a greater number of companies which were seeking space above 10,000sq ft.

Craig Watson, associate director at property firm Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "These figures demonstrate a degree of stability in the Edinburgh office market, although the majority of activity - some 80 per cent - is still focused at the smaller end.

"At present, the number of deals has increased and general sentiment from occupiers appears to have improved."