The independent commercial property consultancy found that around three-quarters of office take-up during the third quarter of 2025 involved fully fitted accommodation. One of the major contributors was the fact that 86% of office deals were for less than 4,000 sq ft of space – up from 77% during the second quarter – with occupiers searching for smaller requirements preferring let-ready options.

In response, Knight Frank said an increasing number of landlords in Glasgow are looking to diversify their buildings from solely a traditional leasing model to include an element of speculatively fitted spaces. These include 5 Cadogan Street and 78 St Vincent Street along with Sutherland House, which also now provides the option to supply furniture ahead of occupation to further streamline the move-in process.

Despite a slower third quarter – with 82,594 sq ft of take-up, compared to the 125,487 sq ft five-year average – Glasgow’s office market is on track to deliver a strong end to the year and exceed the previous 12 months’ total, recording the best year for take-up since 2021.
 
Demand for new and prime refurbished Grade A space has remained high, with a vacancy rate for these classes of space sitting at less than 1%. Lucent – which reached practical completion in the third quarter – and 5 Cadogan Street are adding more than 160,000 sq ft of refurbished Grade A accommodation before the turn of the year.

Simon Capaldi, office agency partner at Knight Frank Glasgow, said: “More occupiers in Glasgow are looking for fully fitted space, as smaller businesses, in particular, continue to grapple with an uncertain economic backdrop.

“That is making flexibility key and, to facilitate this demand, an increasing number of landlords are looking to enhance their product offering within their buildings beyond the traditional model.

“Larger occupiers are still active and looking for space, but we are increasingly seeing them plan far in advance because of the lack of good quality office stock coming through. While, on the face of it, overall availability within Glasgow seems high, the reality is that there is a lack of quality space for corporate occupiers of scale. Lucent and 5 Cadogan Street provide some much-needed supply, but beyond that there is little coming through to satisfy Glasgow’s latent demand until 2027.”

Edin Lynch, surveyor at Knight Frank Glasgow, added: “Although Q3 take-up in Glasgow city centre remained below the five-year average, the outlook is encouraging. Market activity was largely driven by smaller occupiers, highlighting the sustained demand for flexible leases in high-quality, fitted, and furnished spaces.

“A growing pipeline of active requirements, particularly from professional occupiers, is expected to convert into meaningful leasing activity in the months ahead. And, with two major refurbishments completing this year, the market is well positioned for a strong year-end performance.

“Looking beyond the next few years, a constrained development pipeline presents a clear opportunity for landlords and developers to capitalise on the tightening supply of Grade A space next year – particularly if they can match occupiers’ evolving requirements.”