Millionaire Easdale brothers make 450 jobs plea after buying Inverclyde call centre

A landmark Inverclyde contact centre that is soon to be vacated by mobile network giant EE has changed hands in a seven-figure property deal.

The building next to the Greenock waterfront has been acquired from a London-based asset manager by millionaire brothers and entrepreneurs Sandy and James Easdale. The commercial premises extend to some 60,000 square feet and the deal comes shortly before EE vacates the building, with around 450 staff due to move to Glasgow by the end of November.

EE, and its predecessors T-Mobile and one2one, have occupied the building since it was opened as part of the former Scottish Enterprise development zone at Cartsburn in Greenock.

Built in 1999, the office space currently occupied by EE sits across ground and mezzanine levels on a prime six-acre site, accessed from the main A8 arterial road into Greenock town centre.

The Easdale brothers have a wide range of business interests spanning transport, manufacturing, commercial property and land investment. This latest major acquisition sees their property portfolio enhanced to £900 million across the UK through their property investment vehicle, Dalglen. Those investment ventures are responsible for several housing projects, including developments at the Spango Valley site in Greenock, the former Tullis Russell paper factory in Glenrothes and a waterside housing project in Dumbarton. The projects are set to create in excess of 3,000 new homes over the next decade.

The Easdales said they were willing to work with EE and partners such as Scottish Enterprise, Inverclyde Council and the Scottish and UK governments to see if the jobs could remain in Greenock.

Sandy Easdale said: “We’re pleased to add the EE building to our portfolio. It occupies a great location within Greenock, easily accessible by car and public transport and enjoys an outstanding view over the Clyde and towards the new Ocean Terminal facility. At this stage it seems unlikely that EE will reverse its decision to leave Greenock but we are more than willing to work with government and other partners to see if a solution can be found.

“Another 450 jobs lost in Greenock would bring the total to 1,200 lost locally over the last 18 months which is a bitter pill to swallow for the region.”

James Easdale added: “One of the key priorities identified in Inverclyde’s economic strategy was to increase capacity to accommodate private sector jobs but if anything, the region cannot even hold onto many of the ones it has currently got. We are committed to working with others to see if we can keep EE in the town and if that is not possible, we will want to see if we can find a new tenant for the building who will bring jobs to the area.”

Meanwhile, Knight Property Group has announced the completion of the third phase of its £20m speculative development at Langlands Commercial Park in East Kilbride. It has agreed a multi-year deal with engineering services and asset management specialist Briggs Equipment, part of Sammons Industrial, which is the UK and Ireland’s largest distributor of Hyster and Yale forklift trucks.

The Briggs Equipment national service centre is based in Cannock, Staffordshire, with six regional facilities across the UK and Ireland, including Cumbernauld. The new base in East Kilbride provides additional capacity to service the Scottish market.

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