M&G Real Estate and property developer partner Qmile Group said on Thursday they have agreed pre-lets for 55% of Haymarket One at the new £350 million Haymarket Edinburgh development, which was masterplanned by architects Foster + Partners.
Agreements for 62,183 sq ft have been signed by Edinburgh oil and gas company Cairn Energy and Scottish-headquartered UK law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn.
The businesses will take 32,722 sq ft and 29,461 sq ft of Grade A office space respectively.
These latest deals follow the pre-letting of 280,000 sq ft of office space in Haymarket Three last July on a 20-year lease to investment giant Baillie Gifford for its new head office.
Once complete, Haymarket Edinburgh will comprise 380,000 sq ft of Grade A office space in three buildings.
Aaron Pope, director, asset management at M&G Real Estate, said: “As major investors and employers in Edinburgh ourselves, M&G saw an opportunity to regenerate this derelict part of the city, which culminated in the purchase of the site in 2018 on behalf of Prudential’s five million policy holders.
“As an asset owner and an asset manager, we can finance significant projects and use our asset management experience to deliver ambitious, high-quality projects, which improve communities and provide a sustained income for our customers and clients”.
Paul Curran, chief executive of Edinburgh-based Qmile Group, said: “These latest pre-lets to Cairn Energy and Shepherd and Wedderburn show the continued confidence in Edinburgh’s commercial property market.
“They also reflect the desire of blue-chip businesses to be in the highest quality, most sustainable office space and surrounding environment which is served by excellent transport links.
“We are scheduled to complete building one in August 2022 and, at that point, we will really see the development come to life and become an integral part of the city centre after being derelict for over 52 years.”
Shepherd and Wedderburn said it chose Haymarket Edinburgh “because of its modern facilities, prime city centre location and the ease of access it offers colleagues and clients using public transport.”
“In keeping with the firm’s commitment to be net zero for carbon emissions by 2030, the development has an ‘A’ Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating and a ‘very good’ BREEAM certification,” said Shepherd and Wedderburn.
“In addition, 1 Haymarket Square meets the requirements for WiredScore Platinum certification – the highest level of resilience for incoming telecommunications – and offers built-in 5G technology.”
Andrew Blain, managing partner of Shepherd and Wedderburn, which also has offices in Glasgow, Aberdeen, London and Dublin, said: “One Haymarket Square will offer a flexible and dynamic working environment for colleagues and allow us to continue to grow.
“We are pleased to be working with Qmile Group and look forward to occupying our new offices towards the end of next year.”