Prominent Edinburgh and Glasgow office buildings sold in bumper £44m funds swoop

Two prominent office buildings in Edinburgh and Glasgow have been snapped up in a £44 million swoop, providing a timely boost to the property investment market.

A joint venture between TREOS – a fund vehicle of Trinova Real Estate – and Swedish property investor Europi Property Group has purchased Edinburgh’s The Stamp Office and Cuprum in Glasgow

The Stamp Office was built in 1819 and comprises a 52,177-square-foot seven-storey classical Georgian building. Four floors are situated above Waterloo Place and three lower floors overlook Calton Road to the rear, adjacent to Waverley station.

The A-listed building has been comprehensively redeveloped behind a retained facade to provide Grade A open plan office accommodation on all levels.

Cuprum in Glasgow was built in 2010 and is of Grade A quality, offering large floorplates and extending to 96,267 square feet over eight floors, plus 37 car parking spaces.

It is 85 per cent occupied and tenants include Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, The Scottish Ministers, Covance, Queryclick and Senvion.

Cuprum was built in 2010 and is of Grade A quality, offering large floorplates and extending to 96,267 square feet over eight floors, plus 37 car parking spaces.

The building – on the western edge of Glasgow’s International Financial Services District – is fully occupied, with the headline tenants being AXA Insurance and Teleperformance. It is also home to SAS Software and Citres.

Colin Finlayson, director of property firm Lismore, which advised Credit Suisse on the sale of Cuprum and a UK institutional owner on the sale of The Stamp Office, said: “We are seeing increased activity in the Scottish market, with investors like Trinova and Europi being drawn by renewed occupier activity, attractive yields and favourable exchange rates, along with the potential to add value.

Interior of The Stamp Office building in Edinburgh. Four floors are situated above Waterloo Place and three lower floors overlook Calton Road to the rear, adjacent to Waverley station.

“Cuprum attracted significant interest from both overseas and UK investors. It offers excellent tenant covenants and secure income. The Stamp Office offers an opportunity to reposition a quality office building adjacent to the St James Quarter.”

Martyn Brown, director of CBRE, which advised the purchaser on Cuprum, said: “We are pleased to have secured this quality, ‘value add’ office investment for Europi and Trinova.

“The asset offers clear asset management initiatives over the next few years, which will be implemented by our client, whilst taking advantage of the strong fundamentals that the Glasgow office market has to offer.”

Alasdair Steele, a partner at Knight Frank, which advised the purchaser on The Stamp Office, added: “The Stamp Office is in a prime office location, with exceptional nearby amenities and easy access to public transport.

“As organisations move towards a return to the office, with the right strategy and refurbishment programme the building can be turned into exactly the type of offering that occupiers are looking for: good quality, accessible and affordable accommodation in a prime city centre location. It is very rare to find a building like this in Edinburgh.”

Meanwhile, a major office letting has been agreed at Maxim Park, which forms part of Eurocentral.

LumiraDx, which provides point-of-care diagnostics testing products, has expanded its presence on the park by more than 30,000 square feet.

The firm originally leased the ground and first floors of Building 9 at Maxim Park, which is owned by Shelborn Asset Management. A new lease has now been completed for the remaining two floors.

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