Former Scottish Ballet home acquired in £12m swoop

A BUILDING that was once the home of Scottish Ballet has changed hands in a deal that will lead to the creation of a 281-bed student accommodation facility in Glasgow’s West End.
Scottish Ballet's former home in Glasgow has been snapped up in a multi-million-pound deal by Empiric. Picture: Neil HannaScottish Ballet's former home in Glasgow has been snapped up in a multi-million-pound deal by Empiric. Picture: Neil Hanna
Scottish Ballet's former home in Glasgow has been snapped up in a multi-million-pound deal by Empiric. Picture: Neil Hanna

Listed company Empiric Student Property said yesterday it had completed the acquisition of the complex on the city’s Willowbank Crescent from developer CCG (Scotland) for just over £11.9 million.

Known now as The Ballet School, the conversion of the listed former home of the dance academy comprises 103 self-contained studios and was completed in 2013. It is located adjacent to the former Willowbank Primary School which is currently being developed into a 178-bed student accommodation scheme by Empiric.

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The firm said the combination of The Ballet School and the Willowbank Development would result in a 281-bed “exemplar property in a super-prime location”.

Scottish Ballet's former home in Glasgow has been snapped up in a multi-million-pound deal by Empiric. Picture: Neil HannaScottish Ballet's former home in Glasgow has been snapped up in a multi-million-pound deal by Empiric. Picture: Neil Hanna
Scottish Ballet's former home in Glasgow has been snapped up in a multi-million-pound deal by Empiric. Picture: Neil Hanna

Empiric chief executive Paul Hadaway said: “Glasgow hosts the largest student population in Scotland and, therefore, [is] an ideal city for Empiric’s clustering strategy. The acquisition is in line with [our] investment criteria and returns profile.”

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