Following completion of a multi-million pound refurbishment project, the first three new occupiers have been secured at 58 Waterloo Street, a landmark office development in Glasgow city centre.
Scottish financial management company Cornerstone Asset Management, which operates in Glasgow and Edinburgh, has taken a suite on the first floor of the building. The company was previously based on West Regent Street in the city but required a larger office to accommodate business growth.
Swan Group, specialising in the development and active management of affordable and private real estate within the UK, has relocated to 58 Waterloo Street, taking a suite on the eighth floor, representing its new Glasgow headquarters.
MS Amlin, a global insurance company which focuses on the property and marine and aviation sectors as well as providing reinsurance for other insurers, has taken a suite on the fifth floor in the building.
For all deals, landlord Castleforge Partners (formerly Mercer Real Estate) obtained warrants and undertook building works in order to split the floorplates to meet each tenant’s exact size requirements. Castleforge also secured interim complimentary space for all of the firms in Clockwise, its serviced office development in Glasgow, whilst the works completed.
Alan Reid, Partner at Cornerstone Asset Management, commented: “We are excited to confirm our move to 58 Waterloo Street. We deliver a high quality service for our clients and needed our new office environment to reflect that; 58 Waterloo Street is therefore the perfect choice for us.
“We viewed several buildings in Glasgow over a long period of time but nothing came close to the quality on offer at 58 Waterloo Street. We loved the quirky features in the building such as the golf simulator and also the modern and welcoming reception area. Our staff can now ride their bikes into work and use the shower and locker facilities available. These factors, along with Castleforge’s commitment to us by providing interim space to make the move easy and streamlined, and going above and beyond to meet our exact requirements, made it a clear winner in our search for a new office.”
Located in the heart of Glasgow’s Central Business District, 58 Waterloo Street comprises a total of 31,068 sq ft of Grade A office space over eight levels. The building’s efficient open plan floor plates extend to approximately 3,870 sq ft and benefit from natural daylight due to their prominent corner position on Waterloo Street and West Campbell Street.
Rachael Pittaway from Castleforge Partners said: “We are thrilled to confirm we have secured our first occupiers at 58 Waterloo Street and we are looking forward to announcing a few more arrivals before the end of 2017. Each of the tenants are highly respected organisations in their fields and are exactly the calibre of tenant we were hoping to attract.
“Despite a difficult climate, 58 Waterloo Street appears to be finding its place in the market. We are having to be more accommodating than ever before to secure occupiers and clearly our flexible approach to lease terms, along with the great facilities and location, ensures we have an attractive offering.”
The recent refurbishment project was undertaken by owners Castleforge Partners and the new features include a GPS golf simulator located on the basement level. It has been installed in a suite furnished with tables, seating and fridges stocked full of refreshments in which the occupiers can entertain both staff and clients.
The private roof terrace, part of the second floor accommodation, was upgraded and now has glazed balustrade with feature LED lighting, an external power supply and is finished with artificial grass and seating.
Close to Glasgow Central and Junction 19 of the M8 Motorway, 58 Waterloo Street is in an enviable location not only in the heart of the city centre but also in Glasgow’s thriving business district. Cornerstone’s employees will benefit from being both close to excellent transport links and the city’s most popular retail zone.
Rachael Pittaway added: “We’re in detailed discussions with more potential new occupiers and have some further deals in the pipeline so our lettings strategy has been very successful so far. We can grant tenants’ exact requests meaning they don’t need to spend money on business rates and service charges for surplus space. This results in significant cost savings when comparing to other buildings.”
Cushman and Wakefield and Knight Frank jointly represented Castleforge Partners in the transactions whilst Eric Young & Co acted for Cornerstone Asset Management and Savills for MS Amlin.