Prestigious Broomielaw office sold in £40m deal

Glasgow’s prestigious 150 Broomielaw on the River Clyde has been sold in one of the biggest UK office deals outside of London following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The building comprises 96,759 sq. ft. of Grade A office accommodation over eight storeys and is entirely let to Scottish Enterprise and occupied by Scottish Ministers.

The building, one of the most prominent offices by the side of the Clyde, has been acquired for £40 million by Singapore-based private equity real estate firm Elite Partners Capital from a Jersey Trust.

Independent commercial property consultancy Knight Frank advised the seller, while Colliers acted for Elite Partners Capital, which intends to add 150 Broomielaw to its UK Commercial Fund III.

Developed in 2001, 150 Broomielaw is situated in the heart of Glasgow’s International Financial Services District (IFSD), occupying a prominent position between Brown Street and James Watt Street.

John Rae, head of office at Knight Frank Glasgow, said:

"The deal for 150 Broomielaw demonstrates the resilience of the commercial property market in Scotland – despite the wider economic uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Glasgow’s fundamentals remain strong, with favourable supply-demand dynamics. The transaction also shows that international buyers are still actively looking at Scotland for the right type of product and we are confident that more deals can conclude this year, where expectations can be aligned."

Patrick Ford, capital markets director at Colliers Scotland, added:

"Overseas capital continues to be the main driver in Scotland’s commercial property market – that looks likely to remain the case for the rest of 2020, and looking into 2021. The 150 Broomielaw deal shows that the market is beginning to emerge from lockdown in good shape."

Victor Song, CEO of Elite Partners Capital, said:

"We are delighted to secure this landmark building in Scotland’s largest city. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK continues to offer property investment opportunities with promising potential returns. 150 Broomielaw is the latest significant addition to Elite’s existing portfolio of commercial and logistics assets. We continue to appraise similar opportunities for our investors, as we grow our assets under management in the UK.”

Original news story from Scottish Financial Review.