The Met Tower office building in the heart of Glasgow which has been vacant since 2014, is set to become a new hub for tech and digital business.
Bruntwood SciTech, which acquired the 14-storey building for just over £16 million has announced a £30 million transformation programme to turn the building into a place where start-ups, university spin-outs, and growing businesses can form a collaborative tech cluster.
The developers plan to make the Met Tower project a net zero operation, following a transformation project that will retain as much of its existing fabric as possible. The redevelopment is planned to significantly reduce the embedded carbon impact of the site.
Businesses located in the new tech hub will be able to access Bruntwood SciTech’s UK-wide community of innovation districts including: Birmingham, Cambridge, Greater Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool. This will allow them to collaborate more than 500 tech and science organisations, along with specialist support including access to talent, new markets, funding, professional services and business advice.
Work is expected to start later in 2022 – subject to planning – with completion due in 2024.
The hub will offer 113,000 sq ft of serviced and leased office space. Following the redevelopment the hub will include a shared ground-floor breakout space, showers, lockers, secure cycle storage and sports kit drying room, as well as a rooftop lounge, cafe and other amenities.
Glasgow’s science and tech sector has experienced some of the highest growth in the whole of the UK in the past two years, and now makes up 28% of all jobs in the city. As a result, it has retained its position in the top three leading tech cities in the UK outside of London.
Kate Lawlor, chief executive of Bruntwood SciTech, said:
Met Tower is a Glasgow landmark in a brilliant location for innovative tech and digital businesses. Not only is it in the heart of the city centre on the doorstep of Queen Street station and a short walk from Central station, its immediate proximity to The University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University and the City of Glasgow College – who we’re very keen to work more closely with – will provide a huge pool of exceptional talent to draw upon.
