Arup moves into larger Glasgow office at West Regent Street
Arup has moved into a 13,400 square feet grade A office space at 1 West Regent Street, in Glasgow. The new space offers an open plan office space that meets a range of working and sustainability conditions, as well as accommodating new staff for its growing business in the city.
In a bid to create additional grade A office space in Glasgow, given the current sparse supply, M&G in a joint venture with property fund manager Clearbell, developed and recently opened 1 West Regent Street. The 11-story building offers a total of 143,000 square feet of office space and three ground-floor retail units. The building offers large relatively pillar-less floors, which are easily subdivided to accommodate the growing demand for more open space and malleable office environments. The building leverages a range of sustainability technologies, from efficient lighting to an A/C system that surpasses emission reduction standards. The building also supports bikers and provides fitness facilities.
Occupancy has reached almost three quarters, with a wide range of companies setting up camp in the building – including law firms CMS and Shepherd and Wedderburn; Weir Group, a design and engineering firm; Global, a media organisation; and professional services firm FDM Group.
Another tenant that recently joined the office’s ranks is engineering and consultancy giant Arup. The firm has been active in Glasgow for more than 40 years, most recently operating from a 7,700 square-foot office on Bath Street. The firm has been hard at work across major projects in the city over the past decades, including 3,000 seat Clyde Auditorium or ‘Armadillo’ at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), the new riverside headquarters for BBC Scotland, as well as the regeneration of the nineteenth century City Halls into a state of the art concert hall.
To better accommodate the firm’s growing staff levels – Arup currently employs 100 in the city – the consultancy recently took a 10 year, FRI lease (‘Full Repair and Insurance’) for the entire seventh floor at 1 West Regent Street spanning 13,400 square feet. Commenting on the new office space, Alan Richmond, Director and Glasgow office leader for Arup, says: “Our growing business in Glasgow requires a modern, high quality space close to the city’s transport hubs where our staff can collaborate with our clients in the delivery of their projects. We are all delighted to be moving to this landmark new development in the heart of the city centre.”
A number of other large professional services firms have in recent months moved into new office spaces across the UK, including RSM into Leeds’ Central Square Development, KPMG into One Sovereign Square in Leeds, and EY into its new global headquarters in London.
