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Tuesday, April 03, 2024

£150m office development announced for Glasgow's International Services District

Plans have been unveiled for one of Glasgow's largest new office developments in the last five years in a major boost to the city's International Financial Services District.

Gladedale Capital, the UK commercial and mixed use development company, plans a new £150 million development comprising three new office buildings on Glasgow?s Broomielaw which will provide 389,000 sq. ft of Grade A office space.

The new development will be created, pending planning approval, on a two acre site fronting on to the River Clyde and minutes from Glasgow Central Station. It's anticipated that the new office buildings, once complete, could support in excess of 2500 jobs.

The plans will increase the volume of Grade A space created in the International Financial Services District since 2001 by more than 30%, representing a significant addition to the city's office capacity and its ability to attract high quality new jobs and investment.

The three new office buildings have been designed by Make, one of the UK's foremost architectural firms whose founders Ken Shuttleworth and Ewan Anderson were behind the iconic Swiss Re Building in the City of London, known as the Gherkin, and the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt.

They will be constructed along the eastern edge of the site, rising from 11 to 15 storeys and will feature floorplates extending to circa 13,000 sq. ft with flexibility to allow subdivision. The proposals incorporate a full basement car park and landscaping fully integrated with Glasgow City Council's public realm initiative for the area.

The Broomielaw project will be the first major office scheme in Glasgow by Gladedale Capital, which is currently also building the most new office space in Edinburgh at the prestigious £400m Quartermile urban regeneration development and at Lochrin Square, which will deliver 450,000 sq. ft of Grade A provision between them.

Jim McIntyre, managing director of Gladedale Capital, said: "This development represents a major addition to Glasgow's office stock. It?s a striking new development, designed by one of the UK's leading architects, and will be a real asset to the city's growing International Financial Services District.

"It will ensure the continuing progress of the Broomielaw as a business district and contribute to the ongoing regeneration of the Clyde and Glasgow's city centre waterfront."

Commenting on the plans, Jim Watson of Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, who is also project director for the IFSD said: "This planned investment by Gladedale represents another massive boost for the on-going development of the IFSD.

"As we enter the second half of the project's life, this striking development is a valuable addition to the ever growing pipeline of high quality office space in Glasgow.

"Gladedale's development sets us well on the way to achieving our aspirations for 2 million sq ft of new Grade A development in the District by 2011."

The new buildings have been designed to ensure excellent pedestrian links between the waterfront and the city centre around Argyle Street.

The plans also envisage a mix of retail and leisure units at ground level and incorporate a new public space at the centre of the development extending to the waterfront, designed to draw people to the site and provide a new focus.

It's anticipated that construction work on the first building will begin on site early next year with a scheduled completion in 2009.

Building 1 will extend to 11 storeys with 124,000 sq. ft of office space and 2,500 sq. ft of retail space; Building 2 will be 13 storeys high incorporating 130,000 sq. ft of office space and 1,700 sq. ft of retail space; Building 3 will be 15 storeys high, providing 135,000 sq. ft of office space.

The development of the International Financial Services District has already lured over 13,000 jobs to the area over the past five years. Major financial industry players including JP Morgan, esure, Morgan Stanley, ACE Insurance and First Data Corporation have been attracted to the IFSD, while existing employers such as Barclays and Direct Line have expanded their operations.

Agents for Gladedale are DTZ and Montagu Evans.