Achi news desk-
Accountancy giant PwC, tax and audit specialist RSM, and Scotch whiskey distiller Edrington committed to almost 40,000 sq ft of space between them over the quarter. It means 140,000 square feet of office space has been taken up on the street in the past 12 months, according to property research analyst CoStar Group.
The city center received a further boost last week when JPMorgan Chase officially opened a huge new center on nearby Argyle Street in the heart of the city’s International Financial Services district, underlining its long-term commitment to Glasgow. The New York banking giant, which has been present in Glasgow for 25 years, said it was keen to add more staff to the 2,600 people it already employs in the new building.
READ MORE: New York giant JPMorgan Chase opens Glasgow office
CoStar noted that the three major deals that emerged in the first quarter came amid well-documented concern about the state of large parts of Glasgow city centre, including nearby Sauchiehall Street which has struggled due to structural change in the retail sector and challenges arising from the pandemic. .
Grant Lonsdale, senior director of market analysis at CoStar, said PwC’s 26,000 sq ft installation in the Aurora building “fulfilled a long-standing requirement”, noting the financial services giant had previously been linked with Virgin’s sub-lease space Money is 177 years old. Bothwell Street. The PwC deal came after Cubo, the flexible office company, and News UK jointly took 30,000 sq ft at the end of last year.
RSM and Edrington each leased around 7,000 sq ft at Lucent in the first quarter, Mr Lonsdale said, with the deals coming just months after law firm Pinsent Masons leased almost a third of the 96,000 ft building square, which is leased in advance. redeveloped by Orion Capital Managers.
READ MORE: New office development in Glasgow sold for £215 million
The available offices on Bothwell Street are now “firmly on a downward trajectory”, he added, pointing to the “continued leasing success at Aurora and Lucent and the timing of the likely refurbishment at 141 Bothwell Street”. The 175,000 sq ft building developed in 2006 was recently vacated by JPMorgan Chase, with Pinsent Masons and PwC due to leave soon.
Mr Lonsdale said: “HFD’s 177 Bothwell Street, completed in 2022, can be credited with putting the street back on the map. Its best-in-class specification and sustainability credentials helped it land major installations for Virgin Money, Transport Scotland and BNP Paribas, among others, before its £200 million-plus sale to Pontegadea in Spain. [in April 2022].
“Onyx CEG, the refurbishment of the old Eagle building at 215 Bothwell Street, has also helped to revive demand.”
