£330m project due for 2010

Scotland’s largest ever speculative build business park development is set to be complete within two and a half years and will create an estimated 7,000 new jobs for Lanarkshire it was announced recently.

The new £330m Maxim office park – on the former Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) site at the Eurocentral Business Park on the A8/M8 road link between Glasgow and Edinburgh – will also be one of the largest projects of its kind in the UK.

The site boasts:

Maxim’s Chief Executive, Karen Campbell, states that the vision for Maxim is that the development will set new standards in terms of business park working environments in the UK.

“Scotland already has an excellent reputation for innovation, enterprise and social responsibility,” she added.
“Maxim offers quality office space and together with innovative funding, the development will be attractive to UK and international occupiers, putting Maxim on the worldwide map.

“The fact we are building the office complex and preparing the associated landscaping at the same time, means that the businesses we attract will not be faced with construction disruptions and other associated problems.
“Everything will be in place by March 2010. We are already talking to potential tenants who will receive attractive financial packages to relocate to Maxim together with benefiting from working in a top class environment, with high quality buildings, good transport links and have key accessibility to a highly skilled workforce.

“Occupiers considering Maxim will benefit from the fact that their staff will enjoy a wide range of retail and support services on site, as well as working in an environment which is way ahead of anything else on offer in the UK.”
The first office building is due for completion in December, 2008 with all ten scheduled for completion in March, 2010.
The privately funded project was coordinated by Tritax and senior debt was provided by the Bank of Scotland.
Tritax purchased the former CPT site in 2003 and Director, Ian Ross, said the organisation always felt there was huge potential to transform the redundant single user site to a vibrant mixed use business park.

“In terms of our plans for the development, the Chunghwa building was the wrong building in the wrong place,” added Ross.

“We have been listening to the views of prospective occupiers who have said that while the financial incentive packages – which arise from the status of Eurocentral as a former Enterprise Zone – are highly competitive, they wanted to move to a development which is of the highest quality and offers an attractive environment for staff and visitors alike.

“The fact that work has already started on all the infrastructure, landscaping and ancillary facilities – when this might usually take a decade or more – means Maxim will deliver on all accounts and create a platform for significant job creation in the area.”

Leading commercial property agents CBRE and Ryden will be marketing the development to the Scottish and UK property sector and potential occupiers with Ryden Regional Managing Partner, Ewan Cameron believing Maxim offers virtually unparalled choice.

“The range of building size and flexibility of design caters for the widest range of occupation whether as entire buildings or in floor by floor or part floor sub-division,” he said.

“The provision at day one of excellent Park amenities for staff is another major plus for organisations seeking top quality yet very affordable office space.”

CBRE Vice Chairman – Scotland, Philip Reid stated: “At Maxim, the intention is to create a ‘best in class’ modern working environment where occupiers enjoy all of the benefits of an out of town location, but are also part of a vibrant commercial community.

“The development will suit large and small organisations and they will also benefit from extremely attractive commercial leasing packages.”