Shepherd And Wedderburn agrees lease at 1 West Regent Street

Shepherd and Wedderburn has been announced as the latest occupier to take space in 1 West Regent Street, a grade A building located in Glasgow city centre which was developed by M&G Real Estate and a fund managed by Clearbell.

The entire third floor, comprising 13,700 sq ft of office space, has been secured by Shepherd and Wedderburn on a ten year FRI lease. The firm is relocating the staff and partners of its Glasgow office from its current workplace at 191 West George Street and plans to take occupation in May 2016, followed by a three-month fit-out period.

Stephen Gibb, Shepherd and Wedderburn chief executive, said: “Up until now, we have been pretty creative at finding ways to accommodate staff and partners in our West George Street office, but the extent to which the business is growing means that we are fast running out of space.

“The additional headcount from Tods Murray, which we acquired in October 2014, and other senior hires, including a recent three-partner insolvency team from HBJ, means that staying put isn’t an option for us.

“1 West Regent Street creates room for us to grow, right in the heart of Glasgow’s business district. We are looking forward to moving in and joining many other prestigious organisations in this superb office building.”

Manish Chande, senior partner at Clearbell, added: “It is fantastic to kick off 2016 by securing yet another high profile occupier for our building. Shepherd and Wedderburn is a leading UK law firm and we’re confident that 1 West Regent Street will provide the perfect combination of excellent facilities and superb design together with a central location demanded by a business of its stature.”

Alison Taylor, director at Bilfinger GVA, one of the joint letting agents, said: “Following significant lettings success since we launched to market, we now have approximately 34,000 sq ft remaining over two and a half floors.

“I am delighted with the success of 1 West Regent Street but not surprised, given the quality of the product on offer. Grade A stock in the city is reducing rapidly and hence a number of occupiers are bringing forward their requirements well ahead of their lease events, to ensure they secure high quality energy efficient space like 1 West Regent Street.”

Global engineering firm Weir Group PLC and professional services companies Arup and FDM Group have occupied five floors of the building, media organisation Global is set to move in in March and law firm CMS is taking occupation in May. Restaurant and café chain Giraffe, the first retail and leisure operator for the development, opened on the ground level in July 2015. Two retail units on the ground level remain available.

JLL and Bilfinger GVA represented Clearbell and M&G Real Estate whilst CBRE acted for Shepherd and Wedderburn.