By Iain Davidson, Director of Colliers Industrial & Logistics team in Scotland

Demand for industrial space in Scotland continues to come from a broad spectrum of sectors including, engineering, food & drink, service sectors, medical/pharma, manufacturing, logistics, retail and defence.

That said, demand, particularly from SMEs has softened as they navigate the complex environment of a combination of higher taxes and costs, tighter financing conditions and ongoing broader economic uncertainty. The 2026 Rates Revaluation is also likely to add further cost pressures as many industrial properties see their rateable values increase, in some cases significantly.

The 3PL sector has also been notably subdued over the past 24 months, impacted by rising living costs and tighter consumer spending. Albeit there are signs of take-up activity in this sector again.

Overall, enquiries remain stable, but more selective and deals are taking longer to progress.

Take-up in Scotland across all size bands surpassed 4.8 million sq ft in 2025, reflecting a decline of 16.5% y/y. The slowdown in occupier activity can be attributed to sluggish economic growth, rising operational costs, and a shortage of good quality available accommodation, all of which have weighed on demand. West Scotland just tipped the balance between the regions, with take-up of 2.6 million sq ft in 2025, 54% of the overall for the year.

Activity continues to be concentrated in the small to mid-sized units. However, larger notable deals include two speculative industrial warehouse units, Westway 200 (203,000 sq ft) and Westway 90 (88,000 sq ft), were completed in mid‑2025 and let at practical completion. Westway 200 was taken by the UK Government under a long lease, making it Scotland’s largest speculative industrial/logistics letting in 30 years. Pulpex Ltd, a sustainable packaging technology company, signed a 20‑year lease on Westway 90 in April 2025 for its first commercially scaled fibre bottle manufacturing facility.

Other notable movers were Romac Logistics leasing a 93,000 sq ft modern warehouse at 5 Brittain Way, Eurocentral and AIT Logistics have committing to a 77,000 sq ft warehouse at 1 Grayshill Road, Cumbernauld.

 

Supply and Rents

 

Availability of industrial units across all grades and sizes stood at 12.7 million sq ft in Q4 2025, slightly above the 10-year average. This level of supply translates to a vacancy rate of 4.4%, in line with the long-term average of 4.5%.

Against this backdrop, rents continued to rise, with average rents across all grades increasing by circa 4.3% y/y in Q3 2025 (MSCI). Speculative schemes such as Canmoor’s Westway achieved record rents and according to Colliers Rents Map, prime headline rents in Glasgow and Edinburgh recorded circa 6% rental growth.

We’re tracking a slower speculative development pipeline in 2026. The largest being an application recently submitted at Eurocentral Gateway where a joint venture between J Smart & Co (Contractors) Plc and Manse LLP, advised by Colliers, will see 120,000 and 80,000 sq ft developed speculatively, with anticipated completion in Q3 2027.

Most of the rest of the speculative pipeline is in the small to mid-size range. This is concerning for occupiers, but an opportunity for any developer who is able to bring forward larger schemes as there are very few larger modern buildings available.

Overall, while the market has shifted into a more measured phase, its core strengths continue to underpin a positive outlook. The combination of limited new stock, high occupancy across well-located estates, and the broad range of industrial sub-sectors offers a solid foundation for the sector over the foreseeable future, and continued rental growth.

You can see all of the commercial property listed by Colliers on NovaLoca here.

https://www.colliers.com/en-gb

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