Candleriggs Square is undergoing a £300 million transformation that is the first of its kind in the UK. 

Plans for the The Student Hotel and ‘Planning Application in Principle’ were approved by Glasgow City Council in May 2020. Friday September 10th a ceremony at Candleriggs Square took place to mark the upcoming new development. 

The 3.6 acre site was used as a department store as well as a fruit and vegetable market. However, it has remained unoccupied since 1999.  

Drum Property Group and Stamford Investment aim to make great use of the once derelict space in a joint venture. After completion, The Student Hotel is in the running to hold the title as Scotland’s largest hotel.

What phase one of the student hotel has to offer

The Student Hotel is a pan-European investor, developer, owner, and operator of an award-winning ‘hybrid’ hospitality concept. Onsite accommodation, co-living and co-working spaces are combined with restaurants, bars, gyms, retail outlets and event spaces. 

The Student Hotel already has 15 hotels dotted around prestigious parts of Europe in its portfolio. Some of the high-profile city centre destinations already include Amsterdam, Florence, and Berlin.

Founder and chief executive, Charlie McGregor explains: “Today marks the first step of what will become Scotland’s largest hotel, bringing with it our pioneering hybrid hospitality model that will introduce something very different and very exciting to the UK market. On a personal level, I am thrilled that the first TSH in the UK will be in Scotland and that our brand is finally ‘coming home’.”

“Candleriggs Square, in the very heart of Glasgow’s historic Merchant City, provides us with the perfect location. We are very pleased to be active partners of hugely collaborative effort to regenerate this magnificent part of the city centre. We hope this will provide the perfect entry for The Student Hotel into the wider UK market and look forward to progressing our national development.”

Phase 2 of The Student Hotel

The second development phase will be a 346-apartment Build-to-Rent scheme delivered on behalf of financial services and asset management company Legal & General. 

Once complete, the development aims to deliver homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, and local amenities. They also hope to add a new public square, open spaces, and accessible walkways.

Graeme Bone, group managing director of Drum Property Group, adds: “For the last 20 years, the site has lain neglected and unused, becoming an unattractive gap site in an otherwise vibrant and thriving neighbourhood. The development will return Candleriggs Square to what it always was – a bustling market-place full of life, vitality and interest and intrinsically linked to the rest of the city centre, bringing with it a significant and timely boost for both the local and national economy. High-quality housing, hotels, local amenities and open spaces will combine with new pedestrian links throughout the site, making the whole Merchant City more accessible, welcoming and exciting for people living, working and visiting the area.”   

Councillor Susan Aitken concludes: “Glasgow needs a city centre that is an attractive place to live, work, study, visit and invest – and the regeneration of Candleriggs Square can play an important role in delivering on all of those aims. The start of construction is very welcome, bringing new life to a key site that has lain vacant for a considerable time. We can also look forward to further stages of the development bringing economic and social benefit to the Merchant City’s residents and businesses – and contributing to a wider renewal of the city centre.”