Atlantic Square site is first deal for Fitzsimons

Published on Saturday 5 July 2008 14:44

PROPERTY developer Jim Fitzsimons has bought the proposed £70m Atlantic Square site in central Glasgow in the first acquisition for his newly launched company.

Fitzsimons has left Wilson Bowden Developments, where he was Scottish director, to set up Capella Developments and has acquired the strategic site in Glasgow's financial services district from his former employer's parent company, Barratt.

His five-strong team at Wilson Bowden in Glasgow will join him at Capella and have been appointed to continue managing the 1.2bn regeneration of the former steelworks site at Ravenscraig, Lanarkshire. Fitzsimons has led the project for 10 years.

The firm will also manage Wilson Bowden's other Scottish developments: Gateway Glasgow – an industrial development on the Clyde near the M74 junction – and Glasgow Pavilions, a leisure and retail scheme on the Clyde at the Broomielaw.

Commenting on the timing of Capella's launch in the midst of a downturn, Fitzsimons accepted the commercial property market had a problem with funding. He said it would hold up the proposed 165,000 sq ft Atlantic Square office, retail and residential scheme for a year.

Otherwise, the market was in reasonably good shape. "I have gone into this with my eyes open and see this as a huge opportunity. In terms of occupier demand there are still inquiries and deals to be done," he said, adding that Ravenscraig was a long term project of up to 20 years.

Atlantic Square will be the next significant phase for the Atlantic Quay area, Glasgow's fastest growing city quarter, which has been developed by Fitzsimons and his team.

It will comprise two office buildings of 120,655 sq ft and 40,000 sq ft along with 62 residential apartments and ground-floor retail and leisure space. The site has been acquired by Capella Developments with financial backing from Taylor Clark.

Capella will drive forward the Ravenscraig project after securing agreement with the joint venture partners Wilson Bowden, Scottish Enterprise and Corus.

Work on the 200m first phase redevelopment of the 1,100 acre site is well under way and includes a 30m regional sports facility, a 70m campus for Motherwell College and 850 houses.

It will be the country's first new town in more than 50 years and is expected to create over 12,000 jobs over the next 15 to 20 years.