International Financial Services District

International Financial Services District
Sgìre Seirbheisean Ionmhais Eadar-nàiseanta (Scottish Gaelic)
Part of the IFSD as viewed from West Street, 2011
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Multiple buildings containing office space
Location	Broomielaw
Town or city	Glasgow
Country	Scotland
Coordinates	55.85677°N 4.26241°W / 55.85677; -4.26241
Current tenants	Direct Line Group Chubb, Atkins Credit Suisse, Direct Line, Barclays, BNP Paribas, JPMorgan Chase, NFU Mutual, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, SWIP, esure, Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Department for Work & Pensions, Aon
Groundbreaking	2000–2001
Construction started	2001
Completed	2003
Opened	2003
Renovated	2018–present, new buildings under construction
Cost	£1 billion
Client	Scottish Enterprise
Owner	Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow City Council
Management	Scottish Government, Scottish Development International, Skills Development Scotland, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Glasgow Economic Leadership, BT and numerous, financial institutions, property developers and investors
Grounds	3 million sq ft (across multiple buildings)
Website
www.ifsdglasgow.co.uk

The International Financial Services District (IFSD) (Scottish Gaelic: Sgìre Seirbheisean Ionmhais Eadar-nàiseanta) is a public-private financial district in Glasgow, Scotland. Based at Scottish Enterprise, the venture aims to create an attractive inward investment location for leading international financial services companies and a re-location option for existing Glasgow-based companies, seeking to expand their operations.

The district is over 3 million sq ft of office space which has been developed at the district since the start of the project in 2001. Major tenants of the International Financial Services District include Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Barclays.

History

Prior to the launch of the IFSD in 2001, the long-term decline of the old Port of Glasgow and its associated wharves and warehousing had resulted in a neglected infrastructure in Glasgow's city centre area fronting the River Clyde, otherwise known as the Broomielaw. The result was a small number of isolated modern offices, standing adjacent to derelict land and vacant dilapidated buildings, loosely connected to Glasgow's traditional core business district centred on Blythswood Square at the western end of the city centre.

Planning led by Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow City Council, aimed to create a new, dynamic focus for the area’s regeneration, through the establishment of the IFSD. This was an important development of Glasgow’s financial services sector, which, with 28,000 employees, was recognised as vital to the city’s economic fortunes. In order to develop a fully serviced financial services district and exploit its long term potential, significant investment was required to create the right environment.

Definition

No official boundary of the IFSD exists; notionally the term refers to the approximately 1 square kilometre area of the city centre bounded by the M8 motorway to the west, the River Clyde the south, Hope Street to the east, and Sauchiehall Street to the north - taking in most of Blythswood Hill, the south eastern fringe of Anderston and part of Charing Cross. This has given rise to the area's nicknames in the popular press: the Square Kilometre (in reference to the "square mile" of the City of London), and more the popular and widely used Wall Street On Clyde.

Economic Impact

A constant stream of new buildings has appeared in the IFSD since 2001, with more in the pipeline. The Aurora building in the IFSD for example.

Buildings & Notable Residents

Offices of Morgan Stanley at the corner of Douglas Street, part of the IFSD

Site	Tenant(s)
14-18 Cadogan Street	Direct Line Group
200 Broomielaw	Vacant
6 Atlantic Quay	Credit Suisse, Direct Line
Aurora Building	Barclays, BNP Paribas
Alhambra House	JPMorgan Chase
Centenary House	NFU Mutual
122 Waterloo Street	Morgan Stanley
45 Waterloo Street	JPMorgan Chase
Cornerstone	SWIP
Equinox	esure
One Waterloo Street	SSE
3 Atlantic Quay	Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
1 Atlantic Quay	Department for Work & Pensions
Sentinel Building	Aon
Sixty7	unoccupied

The Cuprum complex, completed in 2007, is typical of the new office developments in the IFSD

Buildings Under Construction

Name	Area	Completion Date	Status
Clydesdale Bank Headquarters	313,116 sq ft	2020	Under Construction
Barclays Glasgow Campus	470,000 sq ft	2020	Under Construction
Atlantic Square - HMRC	300,000 sq ft	2020	Under Construction
The Grid	277,500 sq ft	2021	Under Construction

Transport

Railway

The IFSD is connected by five railway stations, with routes that reach regionally and nationally.

• Anderston station
• Charing Cross station
• Glasgow Central station
• Glasgow Queen Street station
• Exhibition Centre station

Subway Rail

The IFSD is connected with two Glasgow Subway stations. The Glasgow Subway the world's third oldest underground metro railway in the world. The two stations that cover the IFSD are:

• Buchanan Street Subway
• St Enoch Subway

Road

The IFSD has links to the nearby M8 Motorway, which runs through Central Glasgow. The motorway connects the city with Edinburgh, Livingston, Glasgow Airport, Paisley, Erskine Bridge and Greenock.

Pedestrian

The Tradeston Bridge, completed in 2009, allows access by foot or bicycle over the Clyde between the IFSD and the Tradeston district, a feature which was previously lacking from the area requiring pedestrians to make an 800 metres (875 yd) detour via the George V Bridge to reach the same point.

References

• Glasgow IFSD (2010) Glasgow International Financial Services District, Leaflet.
• Glasgow IFSD (2010) Glasgow International Financial Service District, Website, Available from: https://archive.today/20130505014554/http://www.ifsdglasgow.co.uk/Completed_Property.aspx.

External links

• Completed Buildings in Glasgow