Following the opening of 25 serviced apartments for short-term accommodation by global hospitality company Sonder on the upper floors, the ground and lower ground floor space, with full consent for a public house/restaurant with outside seating, is currently in a shell condition ready for an incoming tenant’s specific branding and fit out.

The development for JFM Electrical (Holdings) marks a prestige addition to Glasgow’s leisure offering. The project included new external lighting and external repairs to the façade, while the iconic ‘Teacher’ gilded sign has been refurbished, and permission has been granted to reinstate the full original signage, which also had gilded signs stating ‘Scotch Whisky Distillers’ on the lower levels.

John Moore of JFM Electrical (Holdings) said: “It was particularly gratifying to be able to work alongside Mosaic’s design team to restore this historic listed building to its former glory while giving it a new lease of life with new opportunities for fresh uses and to be its custodian for its exciting future over the years ahead.”

Stephen Mallon, director of Mosaic, added: “It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to work on such an historically significant building and to be able to reinstate the iconic ‘Scotch Whisky Distillers’ signage.

“And with planning permission to create a ground floor restaurant/bar (Class 3) with the capacity for 101 covers and a further 110 bar capacity with additional outside seating areas, it looks like the building has a bright future.”

Built in 1875, and designed by architect James Boucher, who was known primarily for his involvement in the design of the Kibble Palace in Glasgow, the existing building is known affectionately to many Glaswegians as the Teacher building.

Originally developed to house the headquarters, offices and dram shop of William Teacher & Sons, the building was ideally located across the Square from the St Enoch railway station and hotel which formed one of the main routes to the south and London St Pancras. More recently, it was known as a conference centre for the Institute of Engineering and Technology.