Innovative flex managed deal signed with the Instant Group
Barclays has secured a bespoke office space in Glasgow to accommodate an anticipated 700 headcount as it prepares for wider expansion in the city.
The site has been taken via an innovative ‘Managed Office’ agreement whereby Instant lease and run the space on behalf of Barclays under a tri-partite agreement between the landlord (Northwood), occupier (Barclays) and Instant.
In July last year the bank announced plans to build a new world-class campus in Buchannan Wharf, Tradeston, delivering significant regeneration and doubling the bank’s Scottish workforce from 2,500 today to 5,000. With Barclays other Glasgow office locations at full capacity, the bank has decided to rent an additional 700 desks at Princes House on West Campbell Street.
Needing to move fast while still taking space in a good location for the business, Instant’s Managed Office allowed Barclays to move in to the new space just four months after its search started.
Scott Stewart, Scotland Site lead at Barclays, stressed it is too early to say which jobs will be based at Princes House, and described the new location as a ‘stepping stone’:
“With phase one of our new world class site at Buchanan Wharf arriving in two years’ time, we need to start making additional headroom now as we grow our numbers. The new space at Princes House, right in the heart of the City Centre, is very close to our existing sites and transport links and will provide an important stepping stone towards our new home in Tradeston.”
The tight timescale necessitated the requirement for an almost immediately available workspace – and one which was close enough to Barclays’ existing sites in the city to minimise any disruption to staff. To balance projected headcount growth with uncertainty on hub completion dates, ensuring flexibility through an ability to terminate the lease on an ongoing basis after the initial 30 months was essential.
Leveraging its expertise of the local market, Instant undertook various elements of due diligence to ensure that the accommodation at Princes House was available for occupation just three months after the lease signature.
John Duckworth, UK and EMEA MD, The Instant Group, said: “Barclays’ move is a prime example of a progressive company that recognised the potential of an alternative procurement route compared to taking a traditional lease for office space. The Managed Office solution offered the best outcome to both client and the landlord by means of a simple, direct, total delivery route to market that drove a cost effective, quick solution through Instant. By extension this also enabled the Barclays property team to focus on the bigger picture in Glasgow and around their wider portfolio.
“We are extremely happy to have worked on this innovative deal with Barclays and feedback from their internal customer and delivery teams has been so positive.”
