Scotland's Best New Buildings Announced at Industry Awards

The best new commercial buildings in Scotland have been revealed at the property industry’s largest celebration held in Glasgow last night.

More than 700 guests gathered at the city’s DoubleTree Hotel to hear the announcement of the winners of the independent competition that celebrates commercial and public property in Scotland.

The ultimate award of the night, Property Company of the Year, sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, was presented to Drum Property Group.  The judging panel commended the company’s continued growth over the last 12 months and the impact of the Group’s activity on the commercial property sector.  Drum is currently developing almost half a million sq ft at Buchanan Wharf and their deal with Barclays last year is one of the single largest commercial property deals in living memory.  Barclays, who will own the new office complex, will provide accommodation for up to 5,000 employees, doubling their work force in Scotland.

The V&A in Dundee also triumphed on the night and picked up awards for both Architectural Excellence and Development of the Year for a public building.  The judges recognised the visitor attraction as not only an iconic new landmark for Dundee but as a development of significant economic impact both internationally and for the local community.

Other awards were presented to Chris Stewart Group for its development of The Edinburgh Grand in the city’s St Andrews Square and Michael Laird Architects were awarded the Architectural Excellence award for a commercial use building for the Hendrick’s Gin Palace in Girvan, Ayrshire.  The Jack Copland Centre, Edinburgh was also recognised with Reiach and Hall Architects and Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service collecting the award for Health Care Development of the Year.                                                                             

The Business Leadership Award was presented to Ann Allen MBE, Executive Director of Estates and Commercial Services at the University of Glasgow.  Sponsored and presented by Bank of Scotland, Ann was recognised for her career which has been dedicated to development of property and its unique role in Higher Education. 

She commented;

“It is a real honour to receive the Business Leadership Award in the Scottish Property Awards.  I am particularly pleased to receive this award as it recognises the contribution Higher Education is making into the property and the built environment. 

“I’d like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding team working on the University’s £1bn Campus Development programme which will not only transform the teaching and research environment at the University but transform the West End of the city of Glasgow and further afield.  This is the University’s biggest estates programme since 1870 and one of the biggest construction programmes in Scotland’s education sector.  Any leader is only as good as his or her team members.”

The Judges Award of Excellence, sponsored by Business Insider, was awarded to Faithful+Gould, Bennett Associates and The University of Edinburgh for their work on the Bayes Centre, the University of Edinburgh's data-driven innovation hub for Science & Engineering.

The popular Deal of the Year category, sponsored by PMP was voted for by guests who attended the event, via live text vote.  This year, the judges put forward 7 significant transactions noted for complexity, size, risk and value.  The award was presented to Chris Stewart Group, Hines European Core Fund, Knight Frank, CuthbertWhite, JLL, Baillie Gifford and Ryden for 20 West Register Street (formerly The Mint Building) in Edinburgh.

Fiona Morton, Chair of the Judging Panel, commented;

“On behalf of the judging panel, I would like to extend congratulations to all the finalists and winners in this year’s Scottish Property Awards.  2019 saw the greatest number of both entries and firms in the competition’s 6-year history which is testament to the credibility of the programme.

“Judging in the awards is hugely rewarding for everyone involved and I would like to thank the judging panel for their valuable contribution in selecting this year’s winners.  I hope that the winners of this year’s awards take time to celebrate their success in what has been another phenomenal year for public and commercial property in Scotland.”

Chris Peace, Managing Director, Peace Recruitment commented;

“The Scottish Property Awards is by far the event of the year on the real estate calendar in Scotland. As a provider of specialist recruitment services in construction, property and engineering, the event provides us with excellent networking opportunities.  We are delighted to support the awards for the fourth year running and congratulate all of the finalists and winners for their achievements.”