Georgian office has much to recommend

Published on Monday 14 June 2010 19:01

FROM time to time a fairly nondescript office building in the centre of Glasgow attracts the attention of camera-clicking tourists.

These strangers are not, however, building professionals on some working holiday but ordinary people of various backgrounds who share one thing in common – a fascination for one of the most sensational 19th-century murder trials.

The focus of their attention is 6/7 Blythswood Square, a commercial address that was once the home of a wealthy Glasgow architect, William Smith. When his eldest daughter, Madeleine, was accused of murdering her lover, Pierre Emile L'Angelier, by poisoning in the spring of 1857, the case shocked Victorian society because of its smouldering sexual undertones (the pair had secret trysts at the Smith home and 21-year-old Madeleine wrote explicit love letters, which Pierre then refused to return). The accused escaped the hangman's noose thanks to Scotland's unique verdict of "not proven".

L'Angelier has often been described as French, although this is not wholly accurate. He was a native of Jersey, although his parents were French and he spent several years in France. Somewhat paradoxically, in 1857, the year of his unexpected demise, a building close to Blythswood Square became the office of the French Consulate.

This property, at 204 West George Street, was completed in 1830, ten years after Blythswood Square, as part of a late-Georgian "new town" (although it was never referred to as such) which was intended to emulate the one that had been developed in Edinburgh. Just like other buildings in the vicinity, No 204 morphed into an investment-driven, tenanted commercial office, which lasted until 2007 when the premises were vacated by Glasgow City Council. It was then that the long-term proprietor, Wordie Properties, decided that the government's "business premises renovation allowance" justified investment in updating the building, and restoring original period features and returning them to their original glory.

The result is 8,042sq ft of contemporary accommodation split over three levels, the floors ranging in size from 2,400sq ft to 2,800sq ft. A lower ground floor of 1,300sq ft could be integrated to provide a total area of 9,300sq ft. The renovation was carried out in consultation with Historic Scotland and preserved period features include neo-Greek columns, intricate cornicing and detailed woodwork.

Chief executive Charles Wordie admits work on the project coincided with the start of the recession: "The market was about to fall off a cliff but 99 per cent of us in it did not see it at the time. But even with the benefit of hindsight, going ahead was still the right thing to do."

Wordie claims an encouraging level of inquiries, with one party showing "good interest". He is aware of balancing the convenience of a single tenant with the prospect of being able to secure more favourable overall terms from letting on a floor-by- floor basis; no doubt the fact that relief from the renovation allowance scheme will continue until 2012 strengthens his hand in a difficult market.

The quoting rent is 20 a sq ft, through joint letting agents Cushman & Wakefield and Cargill.

Supermarket site 'ticked the right boxes'

THE Aldi store at 100 Gorgie Park Road, Edinburgh, has been acquired by CBRE Investors for 3.8 million, on behalf of an in-house client, representing a net initial yield of 5.5 per cent. The 1.51 acre site and accompanying 15,744sq ft store is held on a 25-year lease at a current passing rent of 221,396 per annum (14.06 a square foot). "The property fundamentals of this prime supermarket opportunity ticked all the right boxes," said Dermit Smith of Colliers International, who acted for the vendor, Forrest Partnership.

A PRIVATE investor has made an 865,000 purchase of the Sainsbury's supermarket in George Street, Glasgow, reflecting a net initial yield of circa 5.1 per cent. The 3,563sq ft property is let until January 2025 at an initial passing rent of 46,500 per annum. Ryden acted for the purchaser and Savills for the vendor, also a private individual.

SONACHAN House and the Argyll Chalets, alongside Loch Awe, have been bought by semi-retirees Les and Michelle Reay. The Argyll Chalets portion comprises a self-catering holiday business of four chalets and a flat generating an income in excess of 40,000 per annum. This is attached to the residential portion, being an apartment within Sonachan House. Offers over 495,000 had been invited though Colliers International, Glasgow.

&#149 Please send deals info (text only, please) to: [e-mail]