Knight Frank: Granite City takes largest share of Scottish commercial property investment in years

Knight Frank: Granite City takes largest share of Scottish commercial property investment in years

Aberdeen’s share of Scottish commercial property deals has reached its highest point in years, as buyer and vendor expectations in the Granite City move closer together, according to new analysis from Knight Frank.
 
The commercial property consultancy’s analysis of Real Capital Analytics (RCA) data found that Aberdeen accounted for 18% of the market during 2024 – 42 of Scotland’s 232 deals – its largest annual share since 2020.
 
Aberdeen is on course to surpass that in 2025, already accounting for 24% of deals (14 of 59 transactions) in Scotland between January and June – well above the 13% average for 2020 to 2024. Only Glasgow has seen more transactions among Scottish cities this year.

Knight Frank: Granite City takes largest share of Scottish commercial property investment in years

Aberdeen’s share of deals and the number of commercial properties sold 2020-2024 (source: RCA, Knight Frank)

During 2024 Aberdeen also accounted for 20% of investment volumes, with £503 million of the £2.49 billion invested in Scotland. That was the city’s highest share of the market by a considerable distance in any year since 2020, boosted by the sale of Union Square shopping centre for more than £111 million.
 
In the first half of 2025, Aberdeen has accounted for 14% of investment in Scottish commercial property – £102 million of the £750 million transacted. The figure is well above the Granite City’s 9% average for the previous five years, buoyed by sales including St Magnus House and the Aberdeen bases of energy companies CNOOC, Apache, and Taqa.



Alasdair Steele, head of Scotland commercial at Knight Frank, added: “Aberdeen is going through a transitional period as a city. Inevitably when that happens there is greater turnover of property ownership, with some current owners seeking new opportunities while new entrants to the market see long-term opportunity.

“That helps to bring buyer and seller expectations closer together, whereas in other markets they are further apart given the uncertain macro backdrop. With quality stock on the market, we expect Aberdeen to continue to be active in the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.”

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