GAP gets greater
25 November 2022
Quite unmissable from junction 16 of the M8 motorway, GAP Group’s new head office in central Glasgow gives roughly twice the space of its former facility.
The imposing Citypoint 2 building, located at 25 Tyndrum Street on the northern periphery of the city centre, replaces the previous premises at Carrick Street that was the company’s home for 30 years.
GAP bought the 38,836 sq ft office space building in 2021 and now occupies four of the five floors. The facility has been extensively refurbished to Grade A quality at a cost of more than £2.5 million, and accommodates more than 200 people. When the company originally moved to Carrick Street there were just 17 head office employees.
Douglas Anderson, joint managing director, says: “During Covid many office workers experienced home working for the first time. Encouraging staff to return to the office can sometimes be challenging; however post-Covid, company efficiency coupled with employee mental health requires a return to the office for all. For this to happen the office must be a place where people want to come back to, and I believe we have achieved exactly that at Citypoint 2.”
Iain, Douglas’s brother and fellow managing director, tells me that since moving in at the start of the month, “feedback from personnel about the building has been excellent. They appreciate the extra space, the light atmosphere and the low noise. A facility of this standard should also help us with future recruitment.”
A particularly striking feature are the two rooftop terraces at either end, giving impressive views of the Glasgow cityscape. The plan is to use these to host summer barbecues and other staff events during the year.
Each floor has breakout areas, meeting rooms and other facilities, and the top floor includes a large canteen area. Staff are positively encouraged to take breaks away from their desks and to interact with each other, again promoting well-being and a sense of teamwork.
Douglas adds that a key use of the extra floorspace will be for data interrogation and logistical support to drive efficiency, particularly with regard to GAP’s growing Tanker Services and vehicle fleet.
Iain also points out that the meeting rooms on the various floors have been given symbolic names. These include: Carrick, after the former location; Henderson, reflecting GAP’s 1986 historic acquisition of Henderson Plant which took the business into small tools; and Linwood, called after the first depot opened by Douglas and Iain’s father, Gordon.
GAP has made significant investment in expansion over the past year with the opening of seven brand new depots including Tilbury, Caerphilly and Derby, with plans for a further branch opening, in Norwich, in the new year. There are also plans to build a new facility in Bournemouth in early 2023.
The business currently employs almost 2,000 people operating within ten specialist divisions from 175 locations across the UK, with a turnover of £240 million.
