Who owns the vacant units on Aberdeen’s Union Street?

There are dozens of vacant units on Union Street in Aberdeen, with some spending over a decade without an occupant.

We have been tracking the health of the city’s high streets for over a year.

While we have seen both new additions and recent closures on Union Street in that time, some of the former shops and pubs have remained empty shells for years.

So we decided to find out who owns them.

We were able to find the proprietor address of 35 of the 39 empty units but looked at the future plans for all of them.

Our analysis reveals:

• Aberdeen was the most common address of the proprietors but still only made up for less than a third of the known addresses (31.4%)
• Just over half of the proprietors with known addresses are based in Scotland (54.3%)
• The 38 units for which we were able to source business rates would have cost proprietors more than £4 million over the period they have been empty for.
• More than two in five of the proprietors are businesses specialising in property (46.15%)
• Meanwhile, 69.2% of the empty properties had online listings indicating they were currently for let or sale
• And 14 of the 39 vacant units have had planning applications lodged since they were last occupied.

Where are the owners of Union Street’s vacant units?

A place at home or abroad?

All the analysed units were empty as of August 5. The cut off was set to allow time for analysis and processing of the data.

However, one of the units, 121 Union Street, has opened as Poundland ahead of publication.

The proprietor address could not be traced with certainty for four of the vacant units.

We confirmed the addresses by checking proprietor information against details on Companies House.

However, 53 Union Street and the former Natwest at 262 Union Street listed proprietors that did not have an exact match.

They are, respectively, owned by Colin Pike Pension and Natwest Group Property.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Assessors Association has neighbouring 225 and 227 Union Street owned by the Scottish Equitable PLC.

A spokeswoman said they no longer own the unit, but after we purchased the deed for the property, it showed the proprietor has not been updated since 2002 from E Moss Limited.

Since we could not name the owner with certainty, they are not included in the proprietor analysis.

Some of the empty units are left in a dreadful state and the owners do nothing about it.” Bob Keiller.

Just over half of the 35 known proprietor addresses were based in Scotland (54.3%).

Meanwhile, English proprietors cover two fifths of the vacant units on Union Street (40.0%) with known owner addresses.

But from the cities which are home to multiple Union Street proprietors, the units with Glasgow-based owners averaged the longest vacancy times.

On average, Glasgow-owned units have been empty for more than 7 years.

Closer to home, Fraserburgh-based Challenge Fishing Company Limited owns 156 Union Street. It has been empty for nearly nine years.

With only one proprietor registered in the Aberdeenshire town, that placed it ahead of Glasgow for average vacancy time.

Are local owners more engaged?

The average vacancy time of the Aberdeen-owned units was lower than that in Glasgow and London.

Only four cities or towns with Union Street proprietors spent fewer days empty than the Aberdeen average.

That includes 57-59 Union Street. The proprietor is registered to Sports Direct’s headquarters.

But campaign group Our Union Street, which is striving to re-energise the street, has “surprisingly” not always found local owners to be more engaged.

The group‘s chair, Bob Keiller, said: “You might think that all local owners would be much more attuned to the impact that the appearance of their property has on street but that’s not always the case.

“Some of the empty units are left in a dreadful state and the owners do nothing about it.”

And Our Union Street’s wide-ranging work to clean and promote empty units on the streets is all funded from their own pockets.

He added: “It is probably worth noting that the cost of developing the website, the cost of posting an empty property on the site, the cost of cleaning and painting dowdy shops and the cost of new shop signs are all borne by Our Union Street.

“So far, the property owners have not offered any financial support for this help – although I am sure that some are actively considering it.”

Who are the proprietors of the vacant units in Union Street?

Almost three quarters of the Union Street vacant units are owned by private limited companies (71.8%).

Two units, formerly home to Lush and Dizzy’s, were owned by Aberdeen City Council.

But the council revealed the former Lush unit at number 81 remains leased to the bath and cosmetics company until 2027.

We asked the council what was happening to these units as we take a closer look at some properties this week.

The proprietor of 440 Union Street was listed as Bryant Pension per Ledingham Chalmers, which could not be linked to a single business type.

The owners of 53, 262, 225 and 227 Union Street were also listed as unknown under this category.

The only public limited company is the Bank of Scotland, which owns their former premises at 201 Union Street.

The former Ladbrokes and Bravissimo are both owned by companies based and registered in Douglas on the Isle of Man. Their proprietors are therefore considered overseas entities.

Meanwhile, the Post Office owns the entire building of their former location at 489 Union Street.

A spokeswoman said: ” The space where Union Street Post Office was based is empty; however, the rest of the building is being used by Post Office employees for administration and support for the Post Office network.

“The area in use is greater than the vacant area. We have marketed the vacant area at different times and not received any formal interest.”

In the property business…

More than two in five of the proprietors are businesses specialising in property (46.15%). That includes buying, selling, letting, managing and development of property.

Companies House lists the proprietorof three of the units as dormant.

Farchannel Ltd is named as the proprietor for 195, 172 and 164 Union Street.

The two properties owned by businesses based in the Isle of Man did not include details of the company nature.

To let or not to let, that is the question in Aberdeen

Nearly two thirds of the units were being actively marketed with physical to let or for sale signs on the premises (61.5%).

We did a census of just the vacant units on July 23 to check how many had visible estate agent signs with contact information.

A similar investigation of 18 vacant units in Dundee found that less than a third had physical marketing signs.

Yet, the difference may be partially attributed to the hard work of the Our Union Street campaign group, which wants to list all available units on its website.

“Most of our engagement has been with letting agents – all of whom are supportive and helpful,” Bob said.

He added: “Our preference is to replace the large, unsightly, “To Let” boards with more discreet signs in doors, a new sign above the shop showing what street number and the unit being listed on a single web-page with all the information on rent, rates and allowances.”

The group has already spruced up the exterior of some of the units, not only in the hope of encouraging new tenants to move in but to make it look better in the meantime.

More than two thirds of the units had online listings indicating they were currently for let or sale as of August 8 (69.2%).

All but seven of those 26 units had physical advertising signs.

However, three of the properties without signs were listed as sold or removed from the market on online letting sites.

Proprietors for 47 Union Street said that the unit has been leased after it was “actively” marketed throughout its “long vacant period”.

It will open as a barber and hairdressing salon, Union Cutz, in October.

Is there anything in the pipeline for the vacant units?

Only one property had neither physical advertising nor any past or ongoing online listings.

But even that unit, 363 Union Street, isn’t lying stagnant. Planners granted permissions to replace the roof and for a range of internal work in February of this year.

Only 14 of the 39 vacant units have had planning applications lodged since they were last occupied.

But the two longest-standing vacant units, Budz Bar and Bruce Millers, have both seen plans lodged as recently as 2023.

The proprietors of 73-77 Union Street, GSSS Properties, told the Press & Journal they recently invested £85,000 to improve the condition for tenant Black Sheep Coffee.

But the national coffee brand is yet to open its newest Aberdeen branch in the property, despite having a lease in place for nearly a year.

Raymond Kohli, director of GSSS Properties, said the property was leased just two weeks after it was made empty.

For a few of the properties the last planning application was to install signage for the former occupier, like Lush.

The last planning application for the former Tony & Guy unit, 373 Union Street, was made in 1998. The company Tony & Guy (Aberdeen) was first registered in 1997.

Only three of the planning applications were lodged this year.

If approved, one proposal could see the former Natwest unit at 262 Union Street divided into two.

Another bank could be set for a conversion after plans were lodged on August 8 to transform the former Bank of Scotland (201 Union Street) into a kebab restaurant.

‘The single biggest blemish on our streets’

Appearance matters and Our Union Street has seen its hard work to make the historic street more appealing.

Bob said: “There is no doubt that a lick of paint, clean windows and a new sign can transform the look of an empty shop.

“We have done a few and there are more to do. At least two of the units we worked on have seen a step change in viewings by prospective tenants and one could be under offer soon.

“We have had the fabulous Graffiti Grannies create an art piece in one of the shops.

“Lots of empty units that look unloved and abandoned is the single biggest blemish on the look and feel of our street.”

They have also created visualisations of what the interiors could look like with a new tenant with the help of Makmono.

The visualisations combine both artificial intelligence and real images of the interior.

The cost of lying empty

As of April this year, Aberdeen City Council reduced Empty Property Relief to zero.

That means, with the only exception of businesses that have entered insolvency, the owners are expected to pay rateable value.

Up until April 1, businesses were given 50% relief for the first three months. It was followed by 10% relief for the months it remained empty.

Listed buildings and those with rateable values below £1,700 were 100% exempt up until April 2023. They were given 10% relief until the latest change in 2024.

Using the latest rateable values, and the changing details on relief, we are able to approximate the overall cost in business rates for all the vacant properties.

The calculations were based on the number of days that have passed since the buildings were last occupied.

Overall, the 38 units for which we were able to source business rates would have cost proprietors more than £4 million over the time they have been empty for.

The total cumulative charge for those units over the years they have been empty is estimated to reach £4,124,335.75.

But rates are not just a concern for owners. Bob said: “When we asked the public for their input on Union Street – “Rent and Rates” came out as the single biggest concern.

“But when we dug deeper, we realised that the perception didn’t match reality. Rates on the empty units on Union Street fell, on average, by around 25%, but some by more than 55%.

“Rents have dropped accordingly in most cases, making properties far more affordable now than any time over the past decade.

“When people realise that the first 12 months is usually rates-free and that owners are often willing to offer a rent-free period up front, the conversation quickly changes.”

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Methodology

We gathered proprietor data from the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA).

We found records for each property. But if necessary, the address was confirmed with a search through Registry of Scotland maps.

However, we purchased the deed for the Bravissimo unit, as the proprietor could not be confirmed on the SAA site.

After being informed that the Scottish Equitable PLC no longer owned 225 and 227 Union Street, we also bought that property deed. However, due to inconsistencies in dates we did not consider it accurate.

Data on vacancy rates are all taken from our high street tracking project. The Press & Journal data team has been tracking Aberdeen’s streets for more than a year now.

However, some of the dates may be estimated based on our best knowledge. We use official social posts or archive publications to determine the date.

An additional census of just Union Street was carried out on July 23. During that survey we also noted whether there was physical advertising signage.

Finally, each address was also checked on the Aberdeen City Council planning portal.

Each proprietor was given the opportunity to comment, either through a letter or email, depending on information availability.