A five-acre site on the Inverclyde Enterprise Zone has been selected for IBM's new call centre in Greenock, but although IBM has a major presence at nearby Spango Valley, Greenock was by no means a foregone conclusion.
The Clyde Coast town was selected only after a UK-wide search conducted for IBM by surveyors Weatherall Green & Smith.
The Edinburgh office of Weatheral Green & Smith then advised IBM on structuring a deal which minimised the company's exposure to property risk.
As a result, Morrison Group has concluded a sale and leaseback deal on the 65,000sq ft multi-lingual direct marketing call centre. The deal was completed within a brisk three months and, with an end value of #7.6m, produced a yield of 6%.
Morrison Developments Ltd started discussions with the client in December 1997 and by March 1998 had procured the site, drawn up all the internal and external designs, and organised the lease agreement. Morrison Construction Ltd is now on site, building the offices and 300 car parking spaces.
Morrison director Stewart Bates said: ''This is a significant investment deal for Scotland. Morrison Developments' track record in providing the complete package played a major part in their final decision.''
More than 500 positions are being created in this #11.5m expansion of IBM which will bring the IBM workforce in the town to over 4000. Ian Crawford, IBM's site director, said: ''This new facility will allow us to support our business goals of improved customer satisfaction while improving our competitive advantage.
''Customer satisfaction is key to our business and this announcement is good news for both our customers and for the Greenock location.''
Morrison Development Ltd and Morrison Construction Ltd are
part of Morrison Construction Group plc.
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