HFD Group is taking the top floor of its Glasgow flagship as its new headquarters.
The move by the Scottish commercial property company to 177 Bothwell Street will set a new record rent for Glasgow at £40 per sq ft. The previous headline was £35.25 per sq ft.
Managing director Stephen Lewis said: “It is the strongest possible testimony for other occupiers when the developer of a property is also located in the building. This move demonstrates that we truly believe 177 Bothwell Street is the best office development in Glasgow, and we are committed to what we said we would achieve at the building, as well as the sustainability of our own business.”
While the majority of its team will move to the 315,000 sq ft development, some of the group’s operational businesses will remain at its current base at Strathclyde Business Park.
Chief executive William Hill said: “Our business has grown significantly in recent years, and the physical repositioning of HFD reflects that this is where we are doing most of our work.”
He added that keeping some FM and back-office functions in Strathclyde was “reflecting the importance to us of both the city centre and out-of-town locations”.
177 Bothwell Street’s occupiers include CBRE, Virgin Money, BNP Paribas, AECOM and Transport Scotland, with HFD’s flexible serviced offices business, HFD Offices, also operating from the building.
Last month, HFD refinanced the building with a £100m green loan facility from HSBC.
The building is targeting an EPC rating of “A” and BREEAM Excellent standard, with all of its energy supplied by Blantyre Muir Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire.
The building is also the first Scottish property to commit to attaining the new SmartScore accreditation for smart buildings and has already achieved a Platinum WiredScore certification.
It features a rooftop terrace and running track, 318 cycle spaces, electric vehicle charging points and touchless technology throughout the building.
An independent economic impact assessment concluded that the 315,000 sq ft development will generate £2.8bn of gross value added to the Scottish economy over 25 years.
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