By Scott Wright
A BUILDING that will soon be home to a luxury watch brand on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street has changed hands in a deal worth £4.7 million.
Buccleuch Property, a division of landowner the Duke of Buccleuch’s family business, has acquired 120 Buchanan Street from pensions giant Aegon.
The deal comes shortly after Laings, the Glasgow-based jeweller, signed a long lease over the building. Laings, which recently announced multi-million-pound plans to develop Rowan House elsewhere on Buchanan Street, will operate a flagship Tag Heuer store at the property. It will take possession of the site in January 2023 when Diesel vacates.
Phil Eves, director of Buccleuch Property, said: “We are constantly reviewing all sectors of the UK property market to seek out what we believe will provide good quality, sustainable income with the potential for growth. Buchanan Street offers the best retailing location in Scotland and consistently outperforms many of the key UK high streets in terms of attracting the best retailers. We believe recent strong letting activity on the street shows it has already bounced back and will continue to benefit from the large catchment area and wider regeneration projects ongoing in Glasgow city centre.”
Property firm Savills advised Aegon on the deal, while EYCO acted for Buccleuch Property. The £4.7m price agreed for the property reflects a stabilised net income yield of 5.8%.
Stuart Moncur, head of national retail at Savills, said: “The sale of the new Tag Heuer flagship Glasgow store further cements our belief that Buchanan Street is coming back to once again be recognised by both investors and occupiers as one of Europe’s best retail destinations. This transaction is one of the many we are working on in Glasgow city centre and we hope to be able to share some more exciting news regarding further occupier and investor commitment shortly.”
In April, family-owned Laings signed a 15-year lease to expand its presence at the B-listed Rowan House, which will ultimately see it fully occupy the five-storey building.
Managing director Stuart McDowell said at the time: “The centrepiece of this investment plan is our new flagship showroom in Glasgow, where we’ll be bringing Laings to the forefront while creating unique, immersive experiences for our clients.”
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