French investors have acquired more than £100m worth of commercial assets in the Scottish city of Aberdeen since the start of 2025, according to Knight Frank analysis.

Aberdeen has seen a number of major commercial assets trade hands in recent months

The research reveals French buyers have purchased £100.6m of office buildings, hotels, industrial units and other commercial property assets in the Granite City in the past 18 months.

Knight Frank said investors had been attracted by the value available in the city’s commercial property market, which offers higher yields than the UK average and other Scottish cities.

French firms have been behind some of the biggest deals in the city in the past couple of years, including the sale of Helmerich & Payne’s – formerly KCA Deutag’s – Aberdeen headquarters, Alderan’s £28.5m purchase of Total E&P’s site on Moss Road and the Travelodge Aberdeen Central on Bridge Street.

The majority of French investment in the city is accounted for by open-ended property investment funds known as SCPIs, which have been investing heavily in Aberdeen since the end of the pandemic.

Earlier this year, Knight Frank research found that French investors were one of the most active international buyers in the Scottish commercial property market, accounting for £450m of investment since 2024.

Douglas Binnie, capital markets partner at Knight Frank, said: “French investors have been very active in Scotland, and particularly Aberdeen. On the relatively rare occasions where they haven’t been successful in acquiring an asset in the city, they have usually been among the underbidders.

“SCPIs have been involved in a number of deals in Aberdeen – particularly for the some of the city’s larger assets that have traded hands in recent years. These buyers tend to favour cleaner properties, with minimal asset management requirements, which can provide a return of at least 7%, which is achievable in Aberdeen on assets that meet their preferred criteria.”

Matt Park, partner at Knight Frank Aberdeen, added: “A big part of the attraction is the value on offer in Aberdeen, with yields higher than the UK average and even other parts of Scotland. Buyer and seller expectations are comparatively aligned in the Granite City, which is making deals quicker to reach, and buyers are able to secure quality assets on double-digit returns in some cases.

“At the same time, after a few subdued years the occupier market has started to show signs of stability. Aberdeen had its best quarter for take-up since 2019 in the second quarter of this year, and a higher oil price and potentially more supportive policy from government should help give confidence to the energy sector which still accounts for the vast majority of activity in the city.”