Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Landmark Aberdeen office tower gets new lease of life

Union Point, on Blaikie's Quay, is a familiar Aberdeen landmark.
Union Point, on Blaikie's Quay, is a familiar Aberdeen landmark.

A landmark Aberdeen office building that was auctioned off for just £25,000 following the oil price downturn of 2016 is expected to be fully occupied this year after a remarkable turnaround in its fortunes.

Union Point, formerly Salvesen Tower, has undergone a major transformation.

It is now 95% let under its current owner, Standard Real Estate (Union Point).

It may have taken three years to get to the point where the building is nearly full, but a lot of that can be put down to the pandemic and the uncertainty it caused for a lot of occupiers.”

Matt Park, partner, Knight Frank.

Occupying a prominent location on Blaikie’s Quay , overlooking the harbour, the building is home to tenants include HM Revenue and Customs, the DVLA, and several shipping companies, among others.

But three years ago the office tower was nearly empty and in 2018 it was put on the auction block for just a fraction of the £5 million it had previously been worth.

It has since been refurbished, re-branded and re-launched to the letting market through joint agents Knight Frank and FG Burnett.

Union Point looks out over Aberdeen harbour.

Budding tenants – both sole traders and larger organisations – are being offered modern space from 150-3,600sq ft on flexible terms.

Standard Real Estate is also offering bespoke fit-outs and lease terms ranging from six months to five years.

Hamish Munro, director at the firm, said: “Having been actively involved in the Aberdeen office market for in excess of 15 years, we understand it is different to other Scottish office locations.

“With the acquisition of Union Point, it was our intention to create affordable quality space on flexible lease terms for the local market, learning from our experience of similar (properties) in other locations.”

Merchant Exchange next in line

Mr Munro added: “Whilst the pandemic has been a setback, it is now very rewarding to see the space filled with vibrant and enthusiastic local and national businesses.

“We have greatly enjoyed meeting them all to create space to suit their needs, wherever possible.

“We are now looking forward to working with Matt (Park) at Knight Frank and his joint agents at FG Burnett on the next project at Merchant Exchange, where we hope to provide more local businesses with quality office space, offering suites from 500sq ft to 3,000sq ft and any combination up to 16,000sq ft.”

Union Point offers flexible space for existing and would-be tenants.

Mr Park, partner with Knight Frank in Aberdeen, said: “Standard Real Estate has done a fantastic job with Union Point over the past few years.

“The team has been very flexible and hands-on with its approach to the building, proactively working with tenants to make sure they get what they need from their space.

“Tenants can have a fit-out commissioned and be in their office in as little as a week.”

There is already interest being shown in the remaining space at Union Point, Mr Park said.

Knight Frank partner Matt Park.

Mr Park added: “It may have taken three years to get to the point where the building is nearly full, but a lot of that can be put down to the pandemic and the uncertainty it caused for a lot of occupiers.

“But, as more occupiers in Aberdeen return to their offices and look for flexible, quality space, we expect to see more demand come back to the market.”

Meanwhile, a former pub next to Union Point – the old Quarterdeck Bar and Diner – is being converted into a new business lounge and cafe, with work expected to be completed within weeks.

Conversation