Construction starts at landmark new office development as BT commits to Dundee

BT’s multi-million pound waterfront development will be home to around 1,000 colleagues                                     

Construction has officially begun on BT Group’s brand new multi-million pound contact centre in Dundee as Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, and Rob Shuter, CEO of BT Enterprise, today (19 May) participated in the ground-breaking ceremony.

The new office, which will be home to around 1,000 colleagues forms part of Dundee’s £1bn regeneration area, and will be located at West Marketgait, in the heart of the city centre, close to the waterfront.

The building is expected to be completed in 2024 and will be one of BT Group’s 30 locations in the UK, developed as part of its ‘Better Workplace Programme’ – the largest workplace improvement and consolidation scheme of its type ever undertaken in the UK. The group is also undertaking a multi-million pound refurbishment of its flagship Glasgow office, situated on the Clydeside.

The investment will help transform the way BT Group works, create efficiencies and enable it to better serve its customers in Scotland and across the UK. The company’s current office in Dundee, which is based on Ward Road and is home to around 1,000 colleagues, first opened in 1976. BT Group employs more than 7,000 colleagues across Scotland, ensuring homes, businesses, schools, GPs and hospitals, from Shetland to Stranraer, stay connected wherever they are and whatever the weather.

Teams based in Dundee include those providing customer service support to consumer and small business customers. BT Group has recruited hundreds of people in Dundee in the past four years.

Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, said: “It was great to visit BT’s new ‘Better Workplaces’ site, which represents another key milestone in Dundee’s £1 billion economic regeneration.

“Our recently published National Strategy for Economic Transformation contains bold and ambitious actions - within the powers currently available to us - to deliver economic prosperity for all Scotland’s people and places.

“The state-of-the-art facility will provide nearly 1,000 quality jobs that will support individuals, communities and businesses to be better connected, whilst benefitting from technological innovation. This latest investment reinforces Dundee’s standing as a centre of technological excellence with a highly skilled workforce.”

Rob Shuter, CEO of BT Enterprise, said: “BT is one of the largest employers in the Tayside area and we’re excited to be able to continue investing in the area, and across Scotland. It’s a positive time of regeneration in Dundee and we’re thrilled to be part of that story by building our new state-of-the-art office which will become home to nearly 1,000 of our colleagues, securing vital jobs within the economy.

“Right now, our key industries are on the cusp of a technological revolution as Scotland prepares to make the switch from analogue to digital ways of working. Only businesses which make the leap will succeed and stay competitive - our role is to help them navigate that journey and our new Charter reflects the priorities that our business and public customers expect to see from BT. Our teams based at our Scottish offices, including Dundee, will be key to Scotland’s economic success.”

BT Group plays an important role in the Scottish economy and is responsible for generating £1 in every £115 produced in the country, according to an independent report. It also generated £1.2 billion to the economy of Scotland in “Gross Value Added” GVA, during the 2019/20 financial year.* BT Group supports more than 12,400 jobs across the nation.

The new building will include what its designers have described as a ‘street landscape,’ with areas for colleagues to socialise while enjoying great views over Dundee and the River Tay. Being developed by Crucible Developments and built by Ogilvie Construction with the help of its young apprentices.

Today’s announcement closely follows the publication of a new Customer Charter for BT’s 1.2 million UK business and public sector customers. The Charter consists of a new set of commitments from BT to provide its Enterprise customers with a springboard for growth - delivered through a greater focus on innovation, world-class cyber security, a new suite of digital services, customer service improvements and purpose-driven goals.

-Ends-

Notes to editors

Background:

Under the five-year ‘Better Workplace Programme’, first announced in 2018, BT will consolidate its UK footprint of more than 300 locations to around 30. The company has already announced several other locations including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Ipswich and Manchester, with more to follow. It has also moved into a brand new HQ in London last year.

Dundee is a dynamic, modern city, leading one of the largest regeneration projects in the UK. It is one of the principal tech centres in the country, which as well as being selected by industry group Tech Nation as one of the three cities most likely to become a UK tech hub this year, was also named alongside major world cities such as Toronto, São Paulo and Atlanta by multinational tech company Cognizant as one of the world’s top “places of the future”, in a report examining how new technologies will create jobs.

Working with Scottish Enterprise and property company Camlin, part-owned by Dundee property entrepreneur Bruce Linton, Crucible Developments have assembled the site and designed Dundee’s first ever ‘Platinum Wired Scored’ building. This means the building will be the most resilient building in Dundee from an IT and connectivity perspective. The building will also have sustainable credentials, such as a BREEAM Excellent rating, ensuring its impact on the environment will be minimal. The Greenmarket development comprise two buildings providing 76,500sq.ft (7,108sq.m) of offices, prelet to BT; 6,500sq.ft (602sq.m) of café/retail amenities and 16 flats.

Dundee Waterfront is an award-winning £1 billion regeneration project that is transforming 240 acres of land along 8km of the River Tay. Split into five distinct zones, the project has secured more than £750m of committed investment including a £40m investment by Dundee Port to secure offshore wind and decommissioning work. Most infrastructure works have been completed and the build phase is well underway, with a growing community of businesses and residents moving into the Waterfront area.  Major projects already completed include the construction of a new railway station, V&A Dundee and Agnes Husband House, the new HQ for Social Security Scotland.

Dundee is home to two universities, is the UK's only UNESCO City of Design and world-class computer games developers, life sciences research and the emerging sectors of cyber security and low carbon industries are driving its economic growth. Dundee is also at the heart of the £700m Tay Cities Deal which will boost economic prosperity in the city and surrounding areas. 

*Gross Value Added (GVA) measures the value of all goods and services produced in an economy. GVA combines wages and operating profits from companies and other organisations. Growing GVA can reflect improvements in workforce skills, productivity, R&D and innovation. The figures for BT show the value added directly through BT's services and additional value generated through BT's suppliers across the nations and regions.

The full BT Economic Impact Report is available at: www.bt.com/reports

About Crucible Developments

Crucible Developments is a property development company based in Ayr, Scotland, focusing on commercial property developments projects throughout Scotland and the North of England.    Further information can be found at www.cruciblealbagroup.com

About Ogilvie Construction

Ogilvie Construction is part of the Ogilvie Group, one of Scotland’s most consistently successful family-owned businesses.  The company is over 65 years old and employs more than 600 people across its various business operations in the UK.