Scotland's commercial property sector enjoyed a strong 2012 as Aberdeen and Edinburgh led a continued recovery in the market, research conducted by CBRE has revealed.
The figures show that the take-up of office space through both lettings and sales was far higher last year than it was in 2011, with Edinburgh experiencing its strongest performance in eight years.
And with Aberdeen witnessing its highest annual take-up on record as a result of North Sea oil-related activity, it seems that offices and commercial assets are becoming increasingly popular in Scotland.
"We anticipate Aberdeen will continue to experience a high level of investor demand as a result of strong energy sector covenants and long lease commitments agreed on pre-let offices," said Derren McRae, managing director of CBRE in Aberdeen.
"Compared with other UK regional cities, the genuine prospect of rental growth in prime and secondary assets is also proving attractive to investors."
Aberdeen saw a total take-up of office space of 830,404 square feet, while Edinburgh enjoyed 773,059 sq ft and Glasgow 374,617 sq ft - 13 per cent up on 2011.
Yet despite the impressive performance of the sector, the report also urged caution as the markets in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow all saw subdued activity in the last six months of 2012 compared to the first half of the year.
But given the speed of growth and the extent to which businesses have been either renting or buying office space in Scotland, it's likely that confidence in the country will be stronger that it has been in the past.
However, if the sector is to cope with demand then the development market will also have to respond by supplying a suitable number of new-build projects to facilitate further expansion.
Should office space be found to be lacking in the coming months and choice becomes restricted, larger businesses may be less inclined to set up in Scotland's cities if potential for increasing the scope of their operations appears to be limited by supply issues.