The site at 28 St Andrew Square is rated among the best quality office space currently on offer in the Scottish capital and bosses at Virgin Money are pleased with the deal they’ve been able to reach.
Several hundred new jobs are expected to be made available in Edinburgh as a result of the move, with staff scheduled to begin operating from the offices at some point this summer.
Virgin Money has described the office space agreement as part of an ongoing effort to establish the business as a “real alternative for consumers” throughout the UK.
“St Andrew Square has so much history and we will be looking to build upon that by delivering a bank that makes everyone better off for the generations to come,” said the company’s chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia.
“Scotland has a solid reputation for financial services and of course has highly talented and skilled people to help us grow the Virgin Money business,” she added.
Employees of the well-known beverage maker Heineken were the previous occupants of the space now earmarked for Virgin Money’s staff, with the finance firm aiming to “grow significantly in 2011”.
A report from CBRE late last year suggested that office space in Edinburgh was costing more per square foot than in Manhattan, New York, reflecting a lack of supply to the city’s office market in recent years.
Editor’s notes: In October 2018, Virgin Money was taken over by Clydesdale Bank Plc. In October 2019, Virgin Money was merged into Clydesdale Bank Plc, with the arrangement to continue with its own trading name yet operating under Clydesdale Bank Plc’s banking licence.
At the same time, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank would close Virgin Money’s headquarters office at St Andrew Square, cutting 330 jobs.
In October 2022, Virgin Money announced that it would be opening its new Edinburgh operating base at 83 George Street to customers to be used as flexible working spaces.
Prime office rental rates in Edinburgh in 2022 reached £40 per square foot per year. With a vacancy rate at the end of that year of 4.7%, it is anticipated that the annual rate of rental growth rate will match 2022’s rate of over 5%, in 2023, particularly as those seeking space are increasingly seeking sustainable office space in Edinburgh, which tends to be at the top end of the market.