HENRY Boot has won a #6m contract to refurbish Abbey House in Glasgow,

formerly the Britoil headquarters and until recently the main Scottish

office of British Petroleum.

Though not one of the company's biggest contracts in money terms, it

is a prestige city-centre job with an unusually ambitious finishing date

of April next year. The striking marble and granite atrium of the black

glass building, at 301 St Vincent Street, has featured in a number of

films.

A spokesman for Henry Boot (Scotland) said from the company's

Bishopbriggs base that the main interior features would remain virtually

untouched by the work which began this week. Around 100 people would

work on the project.

Most of the revamp of the 325,000 sq ft office block, now the

headquarters of Abbey National Life Assurance, will involve individual

rooms, service areas and its communications network. The exterior will

be unaffected.

Commissioned in 1986 by Britoil, it was inherited by BP as one of the

prizes of the BP takeover. It was effectively vacated last year when the

oil company decided to move its main Scottish operation to Aberdeen.

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