THE senior partner of a real estate fund manager backing a £60 million office block in central Glasgow believes there could be greater opportunity for investment in Scotland if the country votes for independence.
Manish Chande, of Mountgrange, pointed out the company has been extremely active across Scotland recently, with around £400m of investments in areas including Aberdeen, Edinburgh and West Lothian.
Mr Chande, previously of Land Securities and Trillium, confirmed he won't be put off further investment in Scotland if voters back independence.
He said: "We are not concerned [about independence] whichever way it goes.
"If it stays the same, we are happy as we have made the investment. If it goes independent, I think there will perhaps be even more opportunities as Scotland will have to create its own new infrastructure as an independent state and that in itself will bring opportunities from a property perspective."
Mr Chande also did not rule out making further investments in Scotland, regardless of how the 2014 vote goes.
He said: "I think there is definitely further opportunities [in Scotland]. We have put a lot in here as we are confident and believe in it."
Mr Chande was joined in Glasgow yesterday by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to mark foundations being laid at Mountgrange's West Regent Street development, adjacent to the former Odeon cinema.
Around 200 construction jobs are being supported during the building phase, with the speculative build, a joint venture with M&G, scheduled to be finished in the first quarter of 2015 and provide 143,000 square feet of commercial space.
The majority of that will be offices, although around 9000 square feet on the ground floor is being allocated for retail premises.
Mr Chande said: "We identified Glasgow as being a particularly strong opportunity as we saw there were about three million square feet of lease events, so tenants in existing buildings having lease breaks or lease terminations.
"There were only about 150,000 square feet of Grade A office space in terms of supply, so the supply and demand dynamics were compelling.
"We also felt the economy was going to change so by the time we finish the development in the first quarter of 2015, things would have picked up and we would hopefully have the building let prior to completion."
Talks with prospective tenants are said to be at an early stage but Mr Chande said he has been pleased by the interest shown so far. He said: "So far, the conversations we have been having have been quite encouraging, both in terms of the office tenants and the retail.
"Hopefully we can encourage some restaurants and cafes and get some vibrancy going [on the ground floor]."
Ms Sturgeon said: "We know Glasgow has a real demand for top quality office accommodation and it is crucial to be able to provide that kind of space if the city economy is to continue to grow.
"Developments like this provide construction jobs in the here and now but what they do for the long term economic prospects for the city are very important."
Mr Chande said Mountgrange's residential development of the former Craighouse Napier University Campus in Edinburgh will be going forward to planning shortly. Mountgrange is also developing The Core business park in Aberdeen and has options over 100 acres of land in the city.
Its portfolio also includes the main Royal Mail sorting office in Edinburgh, a 30,000 square feet building at Edinburgh Park on the edge of the capital, and the Pyramids Business Park in West Lothian.
Alongside that, it has options on sites in Hamilton and Forres close to railway lines which it intends to apply to build waste-to-energy plants.
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