THE building which was formerly home to the Scottish Stock Exchange has changed hands in a deal worth around £33 million, underlining the appeal of the city’s commercial property market among global investors.
The Grade A listed building, on Glasgow’s Nelson Mandela Place, has been acquired by AEW, a global real estate asset manager. It was purchased on behalf of the AEW Europe City Retail Fund.
AEW described the building, where tenants range from retailers Urban Outfitters and The North Face to Subway and Carlsberg UK, as “one of the best retail assets in Scotland”.
READ MORE: Plans submitted for giant Glasgow office building
Its retail frontage faces on to Buchanan Street, Glasgow’s premier shopping thoroughfare where big-name retailers Hugo Boss, Zara, Nike and Nespresso have stores.
The five-storey building spans a total of 57,190 sq ft, split between 24,920 sq ft of retail space and 22,704 sq ft of office accommodation, and is fully let to nine tenants.
The acquisition marks the first deal AEW, which had €65.4 billion of assets under management at December 31, has completed in the UK. AEW has more than 700 employees across its offices in Boston, London, Paris and Hong Kong, with the latest transaction meaning its Europe City Retail Fund has a portfolio of 21 across 10 cities, including Copenhagen, Dublin, Madrid, Milan and Paris.
READ MORE: Landmark Clydeside property sold for £55m
Spencer Corkin, director of investments, said: “This is one of the best retail assets in Scotland, reflecting our highly selective acquisition strategy in the UK. Buchanan Street is second only to London’s West End in terms of footfall and retail spend, yet it provides a significant prime yield margin.”
The Scottish Stock Exchange merged with its London counterpart in 1973. Moves are afoot to establish a new stock exchange in Scotland, with Project Heather this week securing grant funding of £750,000 from Scottish Enterprise to support 45 jobs.
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