CMS advises on new Ctrip call centre

CMS has advised China’s largest online travel agency on the lease acquisition of its new Edinburgh call centre which will create up to 200 jobs in the capital.

Scottish-based colleagues from CMS acted for Ctrip Air Ticketing UK Limited (which acquired travel search site Skyscanner in a £1.4bn deal last December), in negotiating its lease in the newly refurbished building at 1 Lochrin Square at Fountainbridge.

Due to open in early 2018, it will be home to a new, multi-lingual call centre which aims to provide a high-level customer service experience across time zones and languages.

This latest project with Ctrip follows on the back of Skyscanner’s 2017 acquisition of its new London office. CMS also acted on that deal, securing 24,000 sq ft over three floors at the new Exemplar development, at 1 Bedford Avenue, London.

Coley Dale at Ctrip said: “We’ve been delighted to have CMS on board to help us secure this site as we continue to invest in our Edinburgh operation. The city is an ideal base for our new, dedicated call centre for many reasons.

“While Chinese travellers continue to be the focus for Ctrip, we’re step by step investing in our services across the world. We’re excited to be building roots here in Edinburgh and look forward to recruiting at scale for our new office.”

The team advising on the deal was led by CMS partner Chris Rae supported by property colleagues Alan Hughes, Lorri Pollock, and Megan Rea. Christine Worthington and Chris Dickson handled construction contracts for the office fit-out and CMS partner Alison Woods continues to advise on the employment implications. CMS partner Jules Needleman, supported by Kate Browne, acted on the new Skyscanner London office.​