Edinburgh office market roundup
Take-up rebounds in the first quarter of 2026
Take-up in Edinburgh city centre totalled 110,537 sq ft in Q1 2026, achieved through 32 transactions, which was 11% higher than the five-year Q1 average number of transactions. Take-up was 1% down on the same period in 2025; however, it was 25% and 13% above the five- and ten-year Q1 averages, respectively, indicating renewed occupier activity in the city.
Grade A and Prime take-up totalled 66,600 sq ft, accounting for 60% of total take-up – the highest Q1 proportion since 2017. Take-up was 39% higher than the same period in 2025, and 91% higher than the five-year Q1 average combined take-up.
Decrease in availability, with Prime still constrained
Availability at the end of Q1 2026 totalled slightly over 1 million sq ft, representing a decrease of 14% on the previous quarter. This means that the overall vacancy rate has decreased by 190 basis points (bps) to 11.7%, the lowest since 2022.
Grade A and Prime availability totalled 614,780 sq ft and 91,636 sq ft, respectively, accounting for 57% and 9% of total availability. This represented a decrease of 8% and 2%, respectively, which means that the Grade A vacancy rate has decreased by 60 bps to 6.7%, while the Prime vacancy rate has remained the same at 1.0%.
Professional occupiers continue as the main driver of take-up
The ‘Professional’ sector was the most active in Q1 2026, accounting for 51% of the total with 55,892 sq ft leased. There were seven transactions for the sector – the highest number of Q1 transactions on record. EY took the largest transaction at 4 & 5 Haymarket Square for a total of 36,200 sq ft.
The acquisition was the second-largest on record for the sector in the market.
The ‘TMT’ sector was also active in the first quarter of the year, leasing a total of 17,444 sq ft and accounting for 16% of total take-up. This was the highest take-up for the sector since Q1 2025.
There were seven transactions during the quarter. The largest of the sector was acquired by Wordsmith AI at 102 Westport for a total of 8,813 sq ft.
Take-up was 25% and 13% above the five- and ten-year Q1 averages, respectively, indicating renewed occupier activity in the city for 2026.
Mike Irvine, Director, Office Agency
Headline rent
There was a further increase in the Prime headline rent during Q1 2026, which now stands at £49.50 per sq ft, and was achieved at Haymarket Square – an increase of 3% on the previous headline rent of £48 per sq ft.
This means that the Prime rent has grown by 30% over the last five years, and further rental growth is expected in Edinburgh due to an extremely constrained Prime supply and lack of new development.
Savills latest rental projections forecast growth to reach at least £60 per sq ft by the end of 2030 – if not before – representing a further increase of 21% on current rental levels.
Find out more about Edinburgh's property market here.
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