The head of a London-based firm which has led a £15 million development on Sauchiehall Street says more businesses are interested in investing in Glasgow than other UK cities such as Manchester.

Bywater Properties has overseen a major re-development of McClellan Galleries, creating modern offices and retail space across three floors in the B-listed building, which was built in 1855 by Blythswood Square architect James Smith.

The former temporary gallery now houses architects, graphic designers and charities, and 80 per cent of the office space and all the retail units have been taken in the past year, a “rarity” during the pandemic, he said.

Dan Mead, head of Asset Management for the firm, said McLellan Works now has a waiting list and the firm is planning another, similar project elsewhere in the city centre.

We’ve had a really, really good experience in Glasgow

He said much of the negative discourse around Sauchiehall Street and retail closures was “unjustified” because the picture was the same across all UK high streets.

The closure of major names was more to do with the changing fortunes of the firms themselves rather than the viability of the street, he believes.

He added regional lists showed that more firms are interested in acquiring space in Glasgow than cities including Manchester, which is often held up as a more commercially successful city.

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“We’ve had a really, really good experience in Glasgow,” said Mr Mead. 
“Sauchiehall Street has had a bit of a bashing over the past year, but I don’t think it’s any different to any main retail street in the UK.

“Some of that bashing is unjustified. There was a story about Sports Direct closing and it was very negative and I’m not too involved in that market, but my understanding is that it is moving to a bigger store.

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“Glasgow really is not the only city in the UK with a street like that. That’s not a Glasgow thing, that’s a structural change in the way that retail trades.

“If you don’t look any further than Sauchiehall Street, you miss all the exciting stuff that’s going on in places like Merchant City. 

“If our building had been in Merchant City, it would have flown off the shelves.”

He said their McClellan Works project had done better than other projects by the firm elsewhere in the UK.

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“We’ve let our building really, really well, almost bucking the trend, in contrast to other projects in other regions.

“When we bought it, it was really tired 1980s office space.  We’ve let 80% of the first and third floors in the last 12 months. Successful businesses that have done well during the pandemic are expanding.

“Then we have also got bigger companies such as the Mental Health Foundation.

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“We’ve not been surprised, because we have created really nice office space and it’s been well received by the market but we have been a bit surprised about how well it’s let, given the pandemic.”

He said the firm was also in the process of finalising a deal with another, major company to opens its first Scottish base.

“We get schedules of who the potential tenants are, who are looking for space, and we go out and we target them. That list in contrast to other lists I’ve seen for other cities like Manchester, it’s quite deep. 

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“If someone comes and looks at the building and doesn’t like it, there are another two waiting to see it. We do have a waiting list for the smaller suites which is quite rare.

“We have said, ‘if only we had three more McClellan Works’, to the extent that we are looking at another project in Glasgow, in preference to other cities.

“We are comfortable with investing in Glasgow and it’s been difficult to put our finger on why, but from experience and involvement in other cities around the UK, Glasgow has a lot in its bones, particularly in that SME, creative, design business.”

“There’s a lot going on in Glasgow, a lot of interesting businesses.”

He said the firm is planning to set up a steering group with other Sauchiehall Street businesses, the council and institutions including Glasgow School of Art, to encourage its recovery.

“It’s similar to what has been done in London,”  he said. We are in the very early stages.”

“The other thing I’ve noticed as an outsider as with some other UK regional cities, you sell yourself short in Glasgow. There is definitely a sense of not shouting about the really good culturally significant things that are going on in the art school and the CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts”.

“Rather than talk about that first, we go straight to Sauchiehall Street.”