Drum Property Group, developers of Buchanan Wharf in Glasgow, has agreed a 20-year lease with the Student Loans Company (SLC) for a 75,000 square foot headquarter office housing up to 1100 staff at the Clydeside development.
SLC will also work with the Government Property Agency to facilitate the co-location of up to 600 civil servants as part of the UK Government Hubs Programme. The UK Government’s presence in Glasgow is also expected to significantly increase with hundreds of Civil Service jobs relocating to the city over the next few years as part of the Places for Growth initiative.
SLC’s new HQ office represents the final building at the award-winning Buchanan Wharf site in Glasgow city centre – also home to the Barclays state-of-the-art Northern Europe Campus and an 18-storey residential complex for Legal & General – marking an important step in the regeneration of one of Scotland’s biggest ever development projects. With the construction of Barclay’s campus HQ completing later this year, and the 324-apartment complex completing in 2022, when complete the site will encompass more than a million square feet of prime Grade A office space, residential accommodation, local amenities and landscaped public spaces.
Welcoming the deal with the Student Loan Company, Graeme Bone, Group Managing Director of Drum Property Group, said: “This deal represents the final piece of the Buchanan Wharf jigsaw, and we are delighted to have secured a tenant of the stature of the Student Loans Company in such a challenging market. The new office complex will complete one of Scotland’s largest and most important commercial and residential development projects. With prime office space plus an exciting mix of homes, local amenities and open public spaces, Buchanan Wharf will be a stimulating and attractive environment in which to work, live and to visit. It has transformed this neglected part of the waterfront, once again placing the River Clyde at the heart of the city’s economic and cultural regeneration.”
The Student Loans Company is widely recognised as enabling people across the UK to invest in their futures through further and higher education student finance as well as servicing the loan accounts of over 8.5 million customers and managing the UK’s student loan book of £177 billion. The company aims to be a modern, responsible, and sustainable organisation through its multi-year transformation programme that will deliver an outstanding customer experience using new technologies and ways of working. Paula Sussex, Chief Executive of the Student Loans Company, added: “This is a fantastic and timely opportunity for SLC as we continue to transform the company to become a modern, responsive and sustainable organisation. This purpose-built office at Buchanan Wharf allows the Student Loans Company to shape a new office experience that optimises opportunities for collaboration and supports future ways of working, enabling us to deliver an outstanding experience to all our customers across the UK”.