FOREWORD
“I am delighted to launch the 2024 Glasgow Pitchbook and Investment Guide which presents some of the best investment and development opportunities the city has to offer. Our investment guide showcases to the investor and developer community a wide array of opportunities to invest in Glasgow and the city region. These include a mixture of market ready and pipeline projects which together articulate the scale of opportunity to engage with city partners in support of the on-going regeneration of our great city and city region.”
Cllr Susan Aitken
Leader, Glasgow City Council
Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city at the heart of Scotland’s only metropolitan region. With a current city population of over 635,000 and a city region population of 1.85m, Glasgow has access to a large talent pool, world class universities, R&D institutions and colleges, as well as a diverse business base in sectors such as health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, digital and creative economy, energy, space and satellite technology, financial and business services and fintech. Host city of COP26 in 2021, the city has an ambitious target to be net zero by 2030.
Like many cities, Glasgow has felt the impacts of the pandemic, especially in the city centre. An ambitious new city centre strategy will guide the renaissance of the city centre in the coming years and will include a vision and action plan for a reimagined Golden Z which identifies priorities for intervention and investment, by the public and private sectors, to further stimulate its economic recovery and support longer term economic, social and environmental resilience (Vision and Plan for the Golden Z).
Mixed use developments such as Love Loan, Buchanan Galleries, St Enochs and Candleriggs Square will play a significant role in reshaping the city centre offering a vibrant mix of commercial, residential, retail, leisure and high-quality public realm, creating destinations that better reflect how and where citizens want to live, work and play. These new destinations will be complemented by repurposed properties throughout the city centre and the Council is lobbying for more powers to allow this activity to take place more easily and quickly.
With a target of doubling the city centre population to 40,000 by 2035, Glasgow is interested to work with investors and developers who can deliver more affordable, accessible, safe and sustainable homes which support good health in thriving neighbourhoods and which match the Glasgow Standard in housing.
At the same time, growth in student numbers in Glasgow is driving demand for more PBSA. The recent UK Student Accommodation report compiled by Cushman & Wakefield reveals that in the last three years, Glasgow’s student population has risen by 12,220, second only to London in growth terms. However, there is now a significant imbalance between supply and demand. Glasgow City Council supports the creation of new, quality PBSA in locations offering access to the Universities and colleges by active transport and by public transport, access to local amenities and with the potential to contribute to local regeneration.
Our investment guide showcases to the investor and developer community a wide array of opportunities to invest in Glasgow and the city region. These include a mixture of market ready and pipeline projects which together articulate the scale of opportunity to engage with city partners in support of the on-going regeneration of our great city and city region.
Glasgow City Council and our city and regional partners welcome the opportunity to showcase these opportunities and to work with investors, developers and organisations who share our values and ambitions for a better, more sustainable future across all sectors of the built environment and our economy.
