BlackRock takes Grade A offices in Edinburgh

[Published July 2012 and updated July 2024] BlackRock, the New York-based financial services firm, has completed a deal that sees it take ownership of 80,000 square feet of Grade A office space in the heart of Edinburgh’s financial district. The deal relates to offices at Exchange Place 1, with BlackRock planning to relocate its staff in the city next year and boost its presence in the Scottish capital.

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SWIP owns the relevant building, and CB Richard Ellis is acting on behalf of BlackRock in negotiating an agreement to install the company’s employees on the first, second, third, and fourth floors of the landmark central Edinburgh development.

Bosses at the financial services firm have described the acquisition as an indication of their commitment to operating out of quality offices in Edinburgh. The deal has been welcomed in Scotland as the largest purchase of speculatively built offices in the city since 2003.

“We are pleased to announce our long-term commitment to Edinburgh and look forward to relocating to Exchange Place 1,” said Nigel Bolton, BlackRock’s managing director, head of operations in Scotland and chief of European equities.

“The location, quality and terms available to us at Exchange Place will allow BlackRock to leverage the firm’s global expertise and breadth of product offerings to best serve clients and their advisers locally,” he said.

CBRE’s representatives on the deal reflected that their client was unlikely to find any more favourable terms than they were able to secure on such high-quality offices in Edinburgh, given the shortage of supply expected for the Scottish capital over the next few years.

Meanwhile, Angela Lowe from Cushman & Wakefield, who advised the previous owner of the offices on the deal, said: “The quality of the building and its specification was an important factor in securing BlackRock. This letting also reinforces the Exchange District as the location of choice for financial occupiers.”

Editor’s notes: As of July 2024, Blackrock was still occupying Exchange Place on Semple Street. However, in January 2023, it was announced that the company had signed a lease on new offices in Edinburgh, expanding its presence in the city from 86,000 square feet to 140,000 square feet.

It was expected to move into its new offices at 20 Brandon Street in 2025. The deal, signed in 2022, represented the largest office letting in the UK outside Central London that year.

In 2016, Blackrock agreed to a pre-leasing deal, under which it leased 15 floors of 50 Hudson Yards to create its New York headquarters. 

The acquisition of 1 million square feet confirmed it as the anchor tenant of the scheme.