Achi news desk-
But all is not lost for the city. The recent investment by JP MorganChase in a massive new center in Glasgow was rightly seen as a significant vote of confidence in the International Financial Services District and the city’s talent pipeline, which the US banking giant has successfully tapped into over the past 25 last years. The New York-based investment bank employs 2,600 people in Glasgow and, at the recent official opening of its 270,000 sq ft base on Argyle Street, signaled its willingness to add even further to the team.
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“Our new building represents JPMorgan Chase’s long-term commitment to Glasgow and to Scotland,” said Lori Beer, the bank’s global chief information officer. “This world-class, sustainable workplace will be a home for future generations of our people and an investment far greater than the building itself. It’s an investment in the community – reflecting the far-reaching impact our company is having in Glasgow.”
The US bank’s investment in Glasgow is not the only reason to be optimistic about the city’s status as a major financial centre. Research published this week by property consultancy CoStar Group underlined the appeal to large companies of nearby Bothwell Street as an attractive place to put down roots. New lettings from accountancy giant PwC, tax and audit specialist RSM and Scotch whiskey distiller Edrington helped the street secure a record 30% take up of the city’s core office market in the first quarter of the year. It means 140,000 sq ft has been used in Bothwell Street in the past year, CoStar found.
The commitment shown to Glasgow by such large companies is certainly a positive development for the prestige of the city and the number of smaller businesses – from bars, restaurants and coffee shops to high street retail – that will benefit from their proximity to these. new offices.
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Of course, the most prominent news item this week was the resignation of Humza Yousaf as First Minister and leader of the SNP and the battle to succeed him, which is increasingly looking like a coronation for former politician John Swinney.
Ian McConnell, business editor of The Herald, used one of his columns this week to question whether the SNP, which until last week shared power with the Scottish Greens at Holyrood, has been as bad for business as it is its critics say it regularly.
“The narrative that the SNP and the Scottish Greens have been bad for business at times has painted a picture that the economy north of the Border has been performing much worse than that of the UK as a whole recently, ” he wrote.
“However, this is not borne out by the data.”
This week, meanwhile, the May issue of The Herald’s Business HQ Monthly was published on Thursday. This led with an exclusive story from business reporter Kristy Dorsey on the prospect of Scottish space company Orbex achieving its first launch in 2025.
Chief executive Phillip Chambers said the construction of the company’s spaceport on the A’ Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Assuming planning and licensing permission is granted, this will pave the way for the first launch of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited’s Orbex Prime payload-carrying rocket into space.
