City centre investment for Glasgow

The Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres Fund is committing £12 million from the Building Scotland Fund for the renovation of 55 Douglas Street, previously known as the Cerium Building, in Glasgow.

The money will be used to redevelop the site delivering 85,000 square feet of new Grade A office space over six levels.

This renovation, due for completion in November 2019, will address a shortage of Grade A office accommodation available in Glasgow city centre.

The project, which is being delivered by Signal Capital, will receive a £12 million loan from the fund operated by the Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres (SPRUCE).

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said:

“This investment is a great example of what we can do through the SPRUCE fund, using finance from the Building Scotland Fund. This loan will help support opportunities for new business to create new jobs, encourage more inward investment and lead to economic growth.

“The transformation of this building will provide much needed high spec office space in the centre of Glasgow. This will further enhance the city’s reputation as a place where companies from across the globe will choose to locate and do business, providing jobs for local people.”

Gareth Richardson, Director of Asset Management for Signal Capital said:

“The SPRUCE fund is a great initiative that will help us deliver some of the best available office accommodation in Glasgow of 2019. The funding will support a full refurbishment, upgrade and expansion of 55 Douglas Street to create 85,000 sq ft of Grade A office space that there is currently a lack of across the city.

“Amber has been supportive of our vision from the outset and we look forward to continuing this relationship and realising the potential of the project together.”

Cameron Cook, Head of Origination for Amber Infrastructure in Scotland said:

“The SPRUCE Fund is delighted to have reached financial close on this important project, providing much needed class leading office space into the market.  We look forward to working closely with Signal Capital to ensure the success of the 55 Douglas Street project over the coming years.”

Background

The £150 million Building Scotland Fund, a precursor to the new Scottish Investment Bank, is available to non-public sector organisations - including businesses, housing associations and universities - to support the development of house building across all tenures, to develop industrial and commercial space and support business-led research and development.

Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Futures Trust are working with the Scottish Government to deliver the fund and bring forward a pipeline of projects.

In December 2018, the Building Scotland Fund provided an additional £25m to SPRUCE for investment in projects that align with its objectives. This is the first investment through SPRUCE that makes use of that additional finance from the Building Scotland Fund.

SPRUCE is an evergreen fund originally co-financed with £50m from the Scottish Government and EU funds and managed on behalf of Scottish Ministers by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Investments are made by an independent investment manager, Amber Infrastructure, on the EIB’s behalf. SPRUCE offers loans and equity investments to revenue-generating infrastructure and energy-efficiency projects supporting regeneration.