BEEB HOME 'SALE OF THE CENTURY'

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Nov 27, 2005 | by ANDREW TOLMIE

DEVELOPERS are lining up to buy BBC Scotland's HQ in what they say is the "property sale of the century".

The famous Queen Margaret Drive buildings in Glasgow's West Wnd could fetch as much as pounds 15 million as house builders fire in bids.

It is virtually certain that the Grade B-listed buildings will be transformed into one of Scotland's most exclusive residential addresses. Consultants Lambert Smith Hampton, who are handling the sale, said yesterday they had been inundated with offers for the prime five-acre site.

Director John Hill has taken scores of calls from developers interested in what experts say is the most prestigious piece of real estate offered in Scotland for decades.

He said: "Such a great amount of interest was not unexpected because of the building's high profile.

"I can't say who has shown an interest but they have been almost exclusively residential developers. It is obviously a very exciting proposition."

The BBC is due to leave Queen Margaret Drive - which has been its Scottish home since 1936 - to move to a new pounds 130 million custom-built HQ at Pacific Quay on the Clyde in 2007.