Roadbridge, one of Ireland's largest civil engineering contractors, has signed a three-year lease on office space at Innovation Park, Bellshill, owned by Edinburgh-based Cosmopolitan Investments.

It will be the first permanent base in Scotland for Roadbridge, which has been active here for some time and played a major role in developing Whitelee, the giant wind farm on Eaglesham Moor, south of Glasgow. It also has offices in England, Wales, Poland and the UAE.

The Bellshill office was formerly occupied by Black Horse Personal Finance and the latest letting returns the building, one of three at the site, to full occupancy. Other occupiers at Innovation Park include Trader Media Group and Balfour Beatty Investments.

Iain Mercer, managing director of Cosmopolitan which was founded by his father the late Wallace Mercer, said he hoped the letting would be a turning-point in the fortunes of the park.

"Securing a new tenant of the stature and civil engineering expertise of Roadbridge suggests the com- mercial property sector is beginning to benefit from high-value construction and infrastructure projects, both signed off and in the pipeline."

Cathal Doherty, project manager, Roadbridge, said: "We are delighted to have secured this base after already having worked in Scotland for three-and-a-half years – one-and-a-half in the Shetland Islands and two on the mainland.

"We have identified prospects for additional work in Scotland, particularly in the renewable sector, and Innovation Park is ideally located for that purpose."

Roadbridge recently completed a joint venture contract involving earthworks for the new Forth road crossing.