Aberdeen grabs largest share of Scottish commercial property deals in decade

Property experts said buyers were seeing “good value” in the Granite City and an opportunity for attractive returns, while sellers were becoming “realistic” on pricing.

Knight Frank’s analysis of Real Capital Analytics (RCA) data found that Aberdeen accounted for 42 of the 164 deals in Scotland during 2025 - a 26 per cent share of the total market. That was up from 20 per cent the year before and well above the 14 per cent average for 2020-2024.

Among the deals concluded in the city last year were the sales of a portfolio of office assets at Kingshill Park in Westhill, St Magnus House on Guild Street, and the Aberdeen bases of energy companies CNOOC, Apache and Taqa. Only Glasgow registered more deals last year, with 59, according to Knight Frank.

Euan Kelly, capital markets partner at the commercial property consultancy, said: “Aberdeen has become a hub of deal activity over the last couple of years. Buyers see good value in the city and an opportunity for attractive returns, while sellers are looking to new opportunities and are realistic on pricing - that is bringing the two closer together and helping transactions move forward.

“With quality stock on the market, we expect Aberdeen to continue to be active in 2026, notwithstanding the uncertainty around oil prices at the moment.”

In total, RCA’s figures show investment in the city’s commercial property market topped £218 million for 2025. While that was down on the previous year’s £468m, which was skewed by the sale of the Union Square retail and leisure complex for £111m, it was ahead of the £213m average since 2020 - or £150m if 2024 is discounted.

Matt Park, partner at Knight Frank Aberdeen, added: “The Granite City is going through a period of change, and that is very much reflected in what’s happening in its commercial property stock.

“While the occupier market has been challenging in the last couple of years, availability for best-in-class space is at low levels and demand for the right stock remains relatively strong.”