Capital Shopping Centres has launched a new office park aimed at small and medium-sized businesses as part of the £500 million phase two development of its land interests surrounding Braehead in Renfrewshire.

The London-based property company will invest £5.5m to speculatively build the first 35,000 sq ft of offices at the park, next to the Xscape leisure complex currently being built.

Riverside Braehead is being marketed towards businesses wanting to buy their own offices and benefit from incentives to invest in commercial property, such as SIPPS (self-invested pension plans).

Glasgow-based property developer Park Lane is advising Capital on the project. Brian Clarke, Park Lane’s joint managing director, said: “We have researched the market carefully and have responded to demand for ownership, whilst still retaining the option to rent. Businesses will be able to tailor their offices to their own requirements and we will also provide support and guidance on financial and professional advice.”

Riverside Braehead, the first phase of which should be completed by the end of 2006, is the latest in a string of sites being sold or developed by Capital around its key asset Braehead Shopping Centre, now valued at £621m . The property firm, along with joint venture partner Capital & Regional, will open the Xscape complex, complete with indoor ski hill, multiplex cinema, bowling, golf and football activities, in the spring.

In 2004, the company sold another chunk of derelict land to Wimpey to build flats and this winter plans to sell further plots to housebuilders.

Rosemary Coles, group development manager with Capital, said: “We had a deliberate policy of buying up land around the shopping centre for a number of reasons. One is to control what’s happening around our primary investment . We also found out elsewhere that when we built out-of-town retail developments the surrounding land values went up and other people benefitted from that.”

She estimated that the value of land allocated for business use – and CSC has three other office parks in the area – has risen by 10-15% since the shopping centre opened in 1999.

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