Banking firm raises glass to new office in ex-brewery HQ

A DEAL that will see Virgin Money move into the historic former headquarters of Scottish & Newcastle has been hailed as "fantastic news" for Edinburgh.

Richard Branson's Virgin Money has announced it will move to the St Andrew Square office after sealing a deal for 30,000 square feet of space.

It means that the former S&N headquarters will be fully occupied when the company joins existing tenants Rathbones and Bowleven.

The office became available in 2008 shortly after S&N was taken over by Dutch brewer Heineken.

The firm's Scottish headquarters remain in Edinburgh but all staff are based at an office at the Gyle.

Toby Withall, a director at GVA, which acted for Heineken, said: "It is fantastic news given that there has not been a great deal of good news for Edinburgh recently."

Virgin Money already has around 80 staff in Edinburgh but wants to hire around another 300.