CONSTRUCTION firm Interserve has sold its development site at Haymarket in Edinburgh to M&G Real Estate for £49.1 million.
Developed in partnership with Tiger Developments as Edinburgh Haymarket Developments Ltd, the site in the west side of the capital had stalled for various reasons but will now be developed by the new owners.
The Haymarket site is in the heart of Edinburgh’s financial and commercial centre and is described as the most significant development project to become available in the city in more than a decade.
The three-acre site has planning permission for a mixed-use scheme including three contemporary office buildings (370,000 sq ft/345,000 sq m), retail space, a 190 bedroom hotel and a 170 unit apart-hotel.
Interserve stated: “With ‘grade A’ office space at a premium in the city, the gateway site is widely considered to be the best office development site outside London.
“The site boasts a location next to Edinburgh’s Haymarket train station and a trams stop connecting to Edinburgh International Airport.”
Interserve is one of the largest construction companies in the UK and is listed on the FTSE-250 index. It has gross revenues of £3.7 billion and a workforce of around 75,000.
M&G Real Estate is the property investment arm of M&G and is one of the world’s largest property investors with £30.1bn of assets across all the major sectors in the UK, Europe and Asia.
M&G said: “With environmental excellence and wellbeing at the forefront of the design, The Haymarket will be built to the highest sustainability standards, with state of the art digital infrastructure, technology and connectivity.
“The site provides an opportunity to expand the Scottish capital’s growing financial quarter which is located next to Haymarket train station, connecting passengers to Glasgow and is also close to tram services serving Edinburgh airport.”
Dougie Sutherland, executive director at Interserve, said: “We are delighted to have agreed the sale of the Haymarket site to M&G. The sale follows a strategic review of the project and is part of our overall transformation plan, allowing us to realise our investment at a time that is right for the development and the market.”
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