A report by one of the UK's main property firms valued the Scottish Commercial property market at £7.34 billion, but says the Government has "hampered" the industry with its lack of essential statistics.

In what is believed to be a first of its kind report for Scotland, Property Advisors GVA Grimley and the Scottish Property Federation, have produced a plan of action for the Scottish Government on how to best approach its commercial building stocks.

Based on a 25 year average lifespan of commercial buildings, the report estimates that four per cent of Scotland's buildings will need to be replaced on an annual basis simply to prevent the nation's business stock ageing. This is equivalent to 14.8 million sq ft of new industrial stock and 3.9 million sq ft of new office stock at current levels, without even taking into account new buildings required for the growth of the economy.

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However, according to GVA Grimley, efforts were hampered in preparing the report due to a lack in official statistics in relation to commercial floor space. As a result, GVA Grimley, together with research partner the Scottish Property Federation, is calling for the Scottish Government to resolve this issue.

Dan Macdonald, chairman of the Scottish Property Federation said: "I have long awaited the publication of a document which simply sets out in a steadfast way the size of our industry and what it contributes to the Scottish economy. Both GVA Grimley and the Scottish Property Federation agreed that this was an important piece of work and I saw it as one of the first tasks to be undertaken by the Federation and duly put it at the top of our agenda."

(DW/JM)