April 25 2007

According to Jones Lan LaSalle Edinburgh and Glasgow office markets will benefit as the City of London experiences its lowest level of office supply since 2001.In the opening three months of 2007, there was almost 1 million sq ft of existing space taken off the market in the City of London. In addition, a further 1.8 million sq ft is now under offer. Overall vacancy rates have decreased from 7.5% to 6.1%, with Grade A vacancy declining from 3.8% to 3.4%, and strengthening demand will lead to more rental growth this year.

As the office supply decreases and the rents rise in the City of London, the banking and finance sector will look further afield for more competitive locations across the UK such as Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Cameron Stott, director of Jones Lang LaSalle Edinburgh, said: "With London now experiencing real selective shortages, particularly for larger units of immediately available office accommodation, and rents escalating, we believe some of the larger occupiers will review their costs and re-locate north of the border.

"With the Edinburgh market effectively mirroring London due to the large proportion of financial sector occupiers, office accommodation in Edinburgh such as Waverley Gate and similar requirements in Glasgow are ideally poised to take advantage of the situation. The Edinburgh market tends to lag behind the City of London by around six to nine months so we expect to see the ripple effect reaching us towards the end of 2007."

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