An £80 million major regeneration plan for Glasgow's Savoy Centre is due to be submitted for planning by the building's owners, it was revealed today.

Belfast headquartered PBN Properties has revealed plans to renovate and extend the Savoy which will be submitted to Glasgow City Council in the coming weeks. The plans include a 221 bed hotel, 6000 sq m of Grade A office space, restaurants at high level which will boast panoramic views of Glasgow, in addition to upgrading the existing shopping centre. The scheme includes a new iconic tower on the corner of Renfrew Street and Hope Street and which will integrate the upgraded shopping centre with the hotel.

Damian Mitchell, Property Director of PBN said, "The Savoy has been part of the city centre landscape for over 30 years. We believe the time has now come to revive, modernise and expand the centre's offering. Our proposals will provide an array of new amenities, including a hotel, restaurants and office space, as well as creating a new landmark building for Glasgow city centre and improving business opportunities for existing tenants."

"The proposals allow for the potential retention of all existing tenants and include the refurbishment and upgrade of the existing ground floor and first floor In-Shop retail units, in addition to plans to vastly improve access and linkages between Sauchiehall street and Renfrew street. We have shown these plans to our tenants and they have been very enthusiastic about the improvements we are proposing, though of course changes of this scale will take time to implement," continued Mr. Mitchell.

Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau said: "We have been meeting with PBN for a number of months and have followed the progress of these proposals. If Glasgow intends to compete and win on a world stage, it needs to continue to attract major investments such as this and the inclusion of a hotel within these plans will further enhance the city's ability to meet growing demand, especially in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games in 2014."

It is expected that up to 200 jobs will be created during construction, with over 900 new jobs created on completion in the scheme, including 200 within the hotel, 650 within the office units and a further 90 within the restaurants.

March 2009