One of Glasgow’s most recognisable buildings has been recently refurbished and is to be home for three new businesses.
Following its refurbishment, McLellan Works provides some of Glasgow’s newest and most stylish office spaces and has bucked the market trend during the pandemic achieving three new lettings, extending to approximately 5,000 sq feet of space.
The property, formerly known as Breckenridge House, is a landmark 160 year old building that has been beautifully refurbished with sustainability at the heart of its design and function. Bywater Properties’ investment in the area is helping to revitalise the area around McLellan Works, which is at the heart of Glasgow City Council’s Avenues Project.
During the refurbishment of McLellan Works, Bywater re-used and recycled elements where possible whilst never compromising the heritage of the building and their aspirations for the design and performance of the new office spaces. Strategies such as maintaining the building structure, refurbishing rather than replacing windows, retaining and opening the roof structure rather than replacing and re-using the raised floors in the office suites, has saved 2,486t CO2e of emissions compared to an equivalent new build. Expressed as the forest amount required to offset the emissions (defined by the Woodland Carbon Code) this is equivalent to 7ha of Mixed Native Woodland.
In operation, sustainability is a core theme throughout the building. Renewable energy is used by the landlord and encouraged for all tenants via one of a number of sustainability-centred lease clauses. Bywater also offers a bike loan scheme on site, where tenants can make use of a ‘pool’ of remanufactured bikes when they want. The bikes are supplied by Bywater’s partner Cycle of Good who provide a 1:1 bike donation to communities in Africa for each bike on site. Bywater has also used refurbished furniture and fitout throughout the common areas of the building in conjunction with Rype Office and is encouraging tenants to make use of this in their spaces, saving CO2 and diverting high quality but unwanted office furniture from landfill.
Theo Michell, Principal at Bywater Properties, said:
“The whole ethos of Bywater Properties when redeveloping focuses on creating dynamic, beautiful, functional and sustainable spaces in which to work and socialise. Despite all the challenges thrown at projects like McLellan Works during the pandemic, it’s heartening to see our vision for the project come to life. We are not just bucking office property trends in Glasgow but for the UK as a whole during these time of uncertainty.
“We’re especially proud that our commitment to establishing a sustainably-led redevelopment approach has come to life. We have revitalised the building by incorporating refurbished furniture and fit outs for the spaces and a leasing approach which puts renewable energy and other sustainability initiatives at the centre of McLellan Works.”
The new businesses joining McLellan Works are:
First floor:
- Anime Ltd Anime Limited is Europe’s premiere distributor for Japanese animation, dedicated to supporting the medium’s greatest filmmakers and providing bespoke experiences in cinemas, on home video and on vinyl. They will be occupying two units in the building. Owner Andrew Partridge said: ”We’re thrilled to call McLellan Works our new home. This dynamic space not only supports our company’s continued growth but will inspire greater creativity and collaboration.”
- Loud Mouth Media the Digital PR firm opens a new Glasgow office. Owner Mark Haslam said: “Loud Mouth Media Ltd is delighted to expand its Glasgow based office substantially by securing space in the highly prominent McLellan Works Building on Sauchiehall St in the heart of Glasgow. Upon viewing the office space, it wasn’t a difficult decision to go ahead and sign the lease. The space is like nothing else in Glasgow and offers us a great base to expand the business in Glasgow and across the rest of Scotland. By having a firm foothold in Glasgow, we also gain access to an extended talent pool which we are delighted to say has been working very well since our expansion.”
- Heb Homes Scottish builders with a passion for architectural heritage & great design who create unique modern living spaces will be occupying two units in the building
Daniel Mead, Head of Asset Management for Bywater Properties, said:
“Securing three new lettings at McLellan Works during the pandemic is a huge achievement for our leasing team and for the wider Glasgow economy. Each deal was conceived, negotiated and concluded during the lockdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“By providing best in class suites of as small as 500 sq ft alongside full wings and floors of 5,000 – 10,000 sq ft, and offering a range of flexible lease packages, McLellan Works can accommodate Glasgow’s demand for new world working environments as it emerges from the effects of the pandemic.”
We expect to announce further lettings during the Summer which will further highlight the mix of innovative new office and retail businesses that we are bringing to McLellan Works which complement the city’s most exciting and culturally creative area.”
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