M&G REAL ESTATE ACQUIRES MAJOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EDINBURGH FOR £49 MILLION

M&G Real Estate has acquired a four-acre mixed-use development site – The Haymarket – in Edinburgh for £49.1 million. With a gross development value of circa £280 million, the site has planning permission for the development of three Grade A office buildings totalling 350,000 sq ft, provision for 40,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, a 190-room hotel and a 172-room aparthotel.

• Development to significantly expand Edinburgh’s growing financial quarter
• Consent to deliver 350,000 sq ft of Grade A office space in the UK’s second financial centre
• Provides investors with geographical and sector diversification in a core city centre location

The acquisition extends M&G Real Estate’s office development portfolio in Scotland and follows deals to fund the construction of Quartermile 3 and Quartermile 4 Edinburgh, in addition to plans to provide a £100 million best-in-class workplace at The Grid in Glasgow, which has already been awarded Scotland’s second ever WiredScore Platinum rating for digital connectivity. With environmental excellence and well-being at the forefront of the design, The Haymarket will be built to the highest sustainability standards, with state of the art digital infrastructure, technology and connectivity.

The site provides an opportunity to expand the Scottish capital’s growing financial quarter – the Exchange District – which is located next to Haymarket train station, connecting passengers to Glasgow and is also close to tram services serving Edinburgh airport.

Edinburgh is a leading European financial and business centre and is home to more FTSE 100 companies than any UK city, with the exception of London. Edinburgh proved resilient through the financial crisis but the supply of office accommodation in Edinburgh is at its lowest for over 10 years – a situation unlikely to improve due to limited new supply.

Chris Perkins, Head of Business Space, M&G Real Estate, comments: “With the current supply/demand dynamics, bringing 350,000 sq ft to the market will reinforce the Exchange District as a prime hub for business in Europe. Whilst Edinburgh remains an attraction for heritage tourism, its rejuvenation as a business and leisure location over the past few years rightly places it amongst Europe’s leading cities.

“As a provider of investment solutions across geographies, sectors and product types, this investment reinforces our strategy of acquiring assets with potential for sustained income, strong capital appreciation located in targeted growth zones.”

Savills represented M&G Real Estate.