HFD sows the seeds for £25m eco-village

Published on Sunday 29 July 2007 00:18

PLANS have been lodged for Scotland's first environmentally friendly business park in Glasgow.

The 25m 'eco-village' will sit alongside Strathclyde Business Park and offer features such as ground source heating, high levels of insulation and water-saving devices.

William Hill, managing director of construction group HFD, the developers behind the 10-acre site, said: "This is very much part of our future. We have had a number of enquiries, mainly in the engineering sector, about this type of development and I am expecting it to sell very quickly."

Hill said tenants could expect geothermal heating, passive ventilation systems, rainwater harvesting and energy efficient electrical systems.

He added: "There will be a lot of wood on them. For example, with regards to insulation, instead of being 50mm thick it will be 150mm to 200mm thick."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has already signalled his desire to promote more environmentally friendly construction. Plans were announced earlier this month for five specially designed 'eco-towns' which will be built to meet zero carbon standards and will each showcase a specific project promoting energy preservation or green technology.

Meanwhile, Hill said that he expected to double the size of the firm by the end of the year. Announcing a pre-tax profit of 4.74m on a turnover of 42m for the six months from September 2006 to March this year, HF Developments is now the sole developer of Strathclyde Business Park and Hamilton International Park.

Hill plans to build more than 300,000sq ft of office and retail space at Hamilton International Park. He said that the investment will be financed by debt from investors, including Lloyds TSB, AWG Property and HFD.

• John Kennedy, founder and chairman of Edinburgh-based property group Kenmore, is in talks to sell the group to listed Australian real estate group Mirvac for 100m. Sources say that he has had meetings in Australia and is now putting the final touches to the deal in London.

Kennedy is credited with being one of the best readers of the property market in Scotland. Kenmore's assets last year broke through the 1bn mark and Kennedy may be looking for an exit.