Mountgrange and Prupim ready EUR 74m Glasgow project

Mountgrange Real Estate Opportunity Fund (MoREOF) and fund manager Prupim have completed the acquisition of a property in the Scottish city of Glasgow in preparation for a mixed-use development. The expected value of the 13,200 m² office and retail project is £60 mln (EUR 74 mln).

The vendor of the existing property at 1 West Regent Street in Glasgow was Duddingstone House (Renfield Street).

Demolition of the building should be completed by year-end, with Mountgrange subsequently overseeing the development of the 10-storey building which is expected to be completed in December 2014. Building firm Sir Robert McAlpine has received the design and build contract.

The development site is located in the central core of Glasgow, near to Queen Street station and adjacent to the Buchanan Street retail scheme.

The development partners say this will be the first significant new build Grade A office building started in Glasgow's Central Business District in nearly five years and will seek to address the shortage of centrally located, modern office space.

Mountgrange is a private real estate fund management business specialising in UK commercial property investment, development and asset management. MoREOF closed in 2009 with committed capital of around £300 mln. To date the fund has committed £255 mln in 14 transactions across the UK including offices, industrial estates, retail and residential, primarily located in the South of England.

Prupim is the real estate fund management arm of M&G and one of the top 20 real estate fund managers in the world by assets under management, with over £15 bn invested in a broad spread of properties across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region. M&G is the investment arm of Prudential in the UK and Europe.