Bovis lands £80m Glasgow windfall

Bovis Lend Lease is understood to have held off two rivals to clinch the main contractor’s role on a major redevelopment deal just outside Glasgow.

The £80m-plus scheme centres on revamping the Pollock shopping centre.

A source said: “Bovis looks to have turned up trumps on this one – which is a bit of a surprise.”

He claimed: “Quite a few people familiar with the local construction scene were putting their money on Laing O’Rourke to net this one.”

O’Rourke is on site at the Glasgow Fort shopping park, a second retail scheme in the city promoted by Auchinlea developments and part of a boom in retail sector work being let in Glasgow.

The other contender in the race was Miller.

Retail Property Holdings is promoting the Pollock deal, which will comprise an imposing 80,000m2 mall to be anchored by a Tesco superstore.

The Pollock Centre breaks down into 47,000m2 of retail space, plus 14,400m2 for commercial use, warehousing and a health village.

Work began earlier this year on a new multi-storey car park and a link from the centre to the M77.

Construction work on the Pollock Centre is due to kick off in earnest this autumn, after a two-month mobilisation period for the main contractor.

The architect for the redevelopment is BDP.