Perthshire plant hire firm Morris Leslie will relocate its head office staff after purchasing the former Edrington building on the outskirts of Perth for an undisclosed sum.
The 30,00 sq ft building, known locally as the Famous Grouse building, is believed to have been the most expensive office block in Scotland when it was constructed by Highland Distillers in 1988.
Edrington moved out of the West Kinfauns site in April 2017, affecting around 100 local jobs, as it centralised its office operations to a new headquarters in Glasgow.
Currently based in Errol, the Morris Leslie group’s interests include the hire, auction and sale of construction machinery, motor vehicle auctions, the provision of storage facilities and the sale of portable and modular buildings. The company’s Errol site will be retained.
Morris Leslie’s group operations director Graham Ogilvie said office space and conference facilities will be available to rent in the building.
He said: “The local area has a scarcity of really high quality office space and this building will offer companies a range of flexible spaces.
“We expect the office space to be highly sought after by both local companies looking for an upgrade on their current offices and businesses based further afield looking to relocate to capitalise on Perth and Dundee’s improving economic standing.”
The site benefits from excellent road and rail connections, ample parking space and onsite catering facilities.
The building will now be named Caledonian House.
Managing director Morris Leslie explained: “This site was formerly the home of Caledonian Tractors, the most northerly CAT dealer in UK and of course Caledonian is the old Latin word for Scotland and relates well to our rich heritage as a Scottish company operating independently since 1974 in the plant hire and sales industry.
“We are delighted to be able to extend our property portfolio with such a fantastic building.”
rmclaren@thecourier.co.uk