Urban Regeneration Through Commercial Property

Our commercial property department has been very much in the news recently, due to its excellent track record in managing major projects in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Our experience is that successful commercial property can be the primary catalyst that sparks significant urban regeneration.

Two good examples of this are the New Kirkgate Shopping Centre and the SkyPark redevelopment in Glasgow. Glasgow landmark SkyPark has seen a 60 per cent boost in lettings over the past two quarters compared with the same period last year, following a major redevelopment. CKD Galbraith is the asset manager of the property, which is owned by Allied London Properties. The principal nine-storey building at Skypark now boasts a 90 per cent occupancy rate for the first time, a major achievement compared to other similar developments in Scottish cities, many of which are suffering due to the current economic uncertainty.

The success of Skypark has attracted other developments to Glasgow, particularly in parts of the city surrounding the centre. These areas have the advantage of lower rental rates for businesses, but are accessible to major roads and public transport networks. Similarly, Edinburgh’s Leith is an area undergoing a period of transformation. Leith has been highlighted by many commentators as an example of how regeneration can and should be achieved.

The most significant sign that inner Leith is improving is apparent in the New Kirkgate Shopping Centre, another development for which we are the project managers and also the managing agents. The centre has undergone a £4 million refurbishment, completed in October 2002. Today the centre has 50 per cent more retail space than previously and is attracting new businesses to join the existing retail tenants, Woolworths and Boots to name but a few.

Again, the New Kirkgate example is leading to an overall boom in the area and many excellent opportunities for our clients. For property investors, areas such as Finnieston and inner Leith offer strong rates of return and in some cases prove to be a much better investment than the centre of Edinburgh or Glasgow. A typical annual return on an urban commercial let in 2002 was around eight percent. This compares with a return on a commercial let in central Glasgow or Edinburgh of five percent.

For more information on commercial property, please contact Pam Over on 0131 556 4422 or email: pam.over@ckdgalbraith.co.uk

Sporting Brochure

Our new 2004 Sporting Lets Brochure will shortly be available.

We are Scotland’s premier sporting lets agency, with over 50 retained Scottish sporting estates on our books and an unrivalled selection of self-catering country cottages, large holiday homes and castles also available for hire by parties of two to twenty-five people.

Whether you are interested in salmon, trout or sea trout fishing, red and roe deer stalking, grouse, partridge, snipe or pheasant shooting, there can hardly be a better choice.

Sporting lets in 2003 were in great demand and we experienced one of our best ever years for arranged sport and sporting lets. For a copy of the 2004 brochure, please telephone our Sporting Department on 01738 451600, email: sporting@ckdgalbraith.co.uk or visit: www.sportinglets.co.uk

To read previous newsletters from CKD Galbraith please click here.

A New Force in Property

CKD Galbraith is a new property consultancy formed through the merger of CKD Finlayson Hughes and Cluttons (Scotland).

The consultancy specialises in serving the needs of private clients. With offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Aberfeldy, Inverness, Ayr and London, our partnership provides the full range of property consulting services across the commercial, residential and rural sectors throughout Scotland. The combined knowledge, expertise and experience of CKD Finlayson Hughes and Cluttons (Scotland) both firms – each enjoying long-established reputations for quality service – has created a national partnership with unrivalled local knowledge.

Services include:

• Sourcing properties
• Surveys
• Appraising and valuing
• Negotiating purchases on the best possible terms
• Residential Property
• Commercial Property
• Forestry Property

For more information please visit www.ckdgalbraith.co.uk