A NEW survey has found Glasgow city centre has less office space than previously believed.

This has raised fears it could deter new companies moving to the city and push up rents.

The first comprehensive survey of city centre office stock was carried out by property agents Cushman and Wakefield.

It found there is six million less square feet available than thought in the area bounded by Port Dundas in the north, the Clyde and the Broomielaw in the south, North Street in the West and Duke Street in the East.

Andy Cunningham, Cushman and Wakefield's head of business space Glasgow, said it was the first time in 20 years anyone had produced a definitive report on the amount of office space in the city centre.

He said: "People used to quote anywhere from 15m to 20m sq ft so we were really surprised to find how much less space there was than expected."

Less than two percent of grade A space is currently available, less than nine percent of grade B stock and just over one percent of grade C stock.

Mr Cunningham added: "Space is tight, most worryingly, at the top end of the market. It would only take one or two large scale lettings before this became a real issue for companies coming to the end of their existing lease or considering locating to the city.

"The drop in the amount of office stock can in part be explained by the general trend towards residential, the private rented sector, hotel, student residential and educational use of buildings in UK regional cities.

"In Glasgow, we have seen a 1960s office building at 179 West Regent Street transformed into the new five star Dakota Deluxe Hotel and the former HM Revenue and Customs offices at 200 West Regent Street are now student halls of residence.

"The former Strathclyde Police headquarters building at Pitt Street has recently been sold for private rented sector use."

Mr Cunningham said the other big issue is the lack of new offices being built as in the current climate, developers are not able to spend the money on pushing ahead with speculative developments.

He added that with Grade A space at a premium, rents are likely to start to climb which would be good news for landlords but would mean tenants paying more.