New figures show that commercial property contributes almost £5 billion to the Scottish economy. This number considers both the direct value of commercial property and indirect effects such as the number of people employed in commercial property.

The figures were revealed in a new report by the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute commissioned for the Scottish Property Federation.

The report also revealed that 49,000 jobs are directly supported by the commercial property sector in Scotland and many more indirectly.

The report says that high-quality commercial property is vital for business. There is a high demand, but a lack of new property being built to satisfy demand. There is a particular shortage of grade A office space. In 2017 1.6 million square feet of commercial space was built compared to 7.1million square feet in 2009. In 2016/17 sales of commercial property totalled £3.2 billion, but this was significantly lower than a decade ago.

David Melhuish, director of the Scottish Property Federation said that there are “huge opportunities for the industry to grow as a valuable financial asset for investors.”

Although the report says that commercial property makes a valuable contribution to the Scottish economy it acknowledges that more investment in commercial property is needed. If more businesses invest in commercial property, then the contribution to the Scottish economy could exceed £5 billion in 2018.

People who want to invest in Scottish commercial property can be helped by mortgages, which are available at reasonable interest rates.