Brothers behind a successful lift company in Dundee have acquired the former McGill premises in a £1 million deal.
Andrew and Fraser Renwick operate Caltech Lifts, which was set up by their father in 1978.
They have grown the company to one of the largest of its kind in Scotland. Caltech maintains 1,500 lifts in the UK, completes installation projects, and also sells stairlifts.
Currently based at the Port of Dundee, the owners have been on the hunt for larger premises as part of an ambitious growth plan.
Deal for former McGill premises
The former McGill headquarters building in Harrison Road now operates as Affinity Business Centre, with several sitting tenants.
The brothers, with two business partners, have set up a new company, Calsum Property Ltd. This has acquired the property from Affinity Business Centre Limited, controlled by former McGill owner Graeme Carling.
Caltech Lifts will make use of one of the warehouses and an office inside the main building.
They also plan to create a showroom to be able to demonstrate stairlift products, which will also help to train engineers.
Managing director Andrew Renwick said: “It is a thriving business centre which will also give Caltech the space it needs to keep growing.
“The building is in good condition and the vibe and energy from the tenants there is fantastic.
“Our customers will benefit from being able to come and see our product offerings. The bigger warehouse will allow more parts to be held in stock, enabling quicker repairs.
“It will also provide more efficient back office support to our field engineers as we look to add to our admin and operations team.
“Importantly, the wellbeing of our staff when in the office will improve thanks to the great staff rooms, brand new kitchens, shower facilities, meeting rooms, and the gym. This building has lots of great things which make it a really positive working environment.”
Rental potential of Affinity Business Centre
The acquisition includes the main two-storey 2,000 square metre building, two warehouses, a store, 40-space car park with seven EV charging points and a 0.4 acre service yard with a 5kW wind turbine.
Affinity Business Centre has 29 offices and currently has 15 tenants working in several sectors including homecare, subsea engineering, legal, communications networks and marketing.
Fully let, the centre is projected to yield tenant rental income of £372,000 a year.
This will be supplemented by a plan to rent out self-storage containers in the service yard and the warehouse and store Caltech won’t use. The new owners predict that could increase annual rental income to £420,000.
Caltech Lifts’ growth ambitions
Caltech Lifts currently has 30 staff and posted sales of £4.2m in 2022-23. Mr Renwick hopes to grow this to £6m revenue by 2026.
He is also hoping to add a second office in Glasgow as Caltech has a lot of clients in the Central Belt and north of England.
The managing director said: “The business is performing strongly. We have a lot going on with Dundee City Council’s multi-storeys.
“We have been employed by Robertson to do lifts at the Eden Campus and Perth High School.
“Acquiring new premises will help us with our growth trajectory. It’s an exciting time for the business.”
Former owner Mr Carling said: “It was a pleasure to deal with the Caltech team, and we wish them all the best in their new offices”
