In August, Crondall Energy Consultants opened its new offices in Glasgow. The independent consultancy, which provides services for offshore energy projects, had seen a rapid increase in its energy transition and abatement workload over the past year and had ambitions to further grow the renewables side of its business.
Murray Anderson, the company’s energy transition & strategy director, explains: “Having a base in the Central Belt is key to that strategy since we recognise that many of the developers in those industries are based here in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“Also, many of our staff have been based in Glasgow working from home and further recruitment from the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde this year made opening a base in Glasgow an easy decision.”
The location Crondall decided upon was the third floor at 10 Bothwell Street, which has been comprehensively refurbished as part of SRE Group’s ‘Complete’ portfolio, with fully connected walk-in space, break-out areas and meeting rooms.
“We found that the value you received from more modern builds and flexible working space was very poor compared to SRE’s offering and the cost per square metre was very competitive, especially with the office being refurbished,” says Anderson.
“Location was also a key factor in our decision and the office is within ten-minute’s walk from both Queen Street and Central Stations, which makes it extremely convenient both for staff and potential clients. Plus, we operate on a hybrid basis, so making the journey into the office as convenient and stress-free as possible was paramount.”
Anderson believes that having physical office space in the city offers staff a useful environment to collaborate and socialise in person. “That can be invaluable in our line of work, and it also gives us visibility and the opportunity to meet and work with clients in the same area.”
John Grewar, of SRE Group, says the challenge in refurbishing traditional city centre buildings is achieving high quality suites suitable for modern work practices.
In the case of 10 Bothwell Street the floors were stripped back to a shell and new finishes provided, with new electric air conditioning resulting in an energy performance rating of A. Small, fitted office suites have also been incorporated with enhanced facilities including break-out areas and meeting rooms aimed at attracting SMEs.
Meanwhile, the challenge for landlords is the cost of refurbishment works in older buildings but Grewar says: “With 10 Bothwell Street, 94 per cent of the building is already let or under offer in suites from 250 sq ft to 5,500 sq ft.”