Former High School of Glasgow to be transformed into five-star hotel and wedding venue

Councillors have approved plans to transform the former High School in Glasgow into a luxury five-star hotel and wedding venue.

Hospitality firm Scotsman Group, previously G1, has been granted permission to redevelop the former school buildings – last used as police offices – on Elmbank Street and Holland Street.

The project is expected to include a public bar and restaurant, a spa with pool and gym, 21 serviced apartments and 142 bedrooms. Over £20m is set to be invested in the buildings and grounds, with around 175 permanent jobs created.

Landowners City Property, which manages the council’s surplus building, put the complex on the market and the Scotsman Group was chosen as the successful bidder in 2021.

The company wants to “create a luxury city centre destination in the form of a five-star hotel”, introducing a “sense of style and glamour” to the site.

Scotsman Group, owned by businessman Stefan King, already has a number of Glasgow venues, including the Corinthian Club, Hillhead Bookclub, Arta, Grosvenor Cafe and Oran Mor.

It acquired and refurbished the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh, which previously housed The Scotsman newspaper, in 2017.

The High School of Glasgow closed in 1976 following “reorganisation of education” by Strathclyde Regional Council. Following this decision, an independent school, with the same name, was opened, and is now based on Crow Road.

The Elmbank Street site, which includes A-listed buildings, was used as council offices until the abolishment of regional councils in 1996, when it was taken on by the police. Since Police Scotland relocated in 2013, it has “fallen into a state of disrepair”.

Plans submitted on behalf of the Scotsman Group stated “direct intervention is required and soon” to save the buildings.

They added: “The hotel has the potential to be one of the most exclusive in Glasgow which will directly impact on the way the buildings are perceived. For too long they have been the empty council buildings on Elmbank Street.”

Work is expected to be carried out over five stages, with the first two phases focused on the serviced apartments and hotel. Function rooms will then be created before the gatehouse buildings are turned into a public bar.

The final stage will see an unlisted building demolished to make way for a spa with pool, gym and treatment rooms. The final 16 hotel rooms will be developed on the upper floors.