Former Scottish Ballet home acquired in £12m swoop

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

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.

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.

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”.

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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