GLASGOW City Council has announced the preferred developer and development proposal for the Egyptian Halls.
Property firm Ediston’s proposals for the A-listed city centre building include a hotel with leisure uses for the lower floors. If delivered, the plans would also involve ‘minimal’ structural alterations to the Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson masterpiece.
The move by the council’s contracts and property committee follows last year’s decision to explore the use of compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers to secure the Egyptian Halls’ future. That process included the marketing of the building to interested parties across the summer and autumn of 2025.
Following the committee decision, the council will now negotiate terms for a ‘back-to-back agreement’ with Ediston, while continuing to take forward the work required to ensure that the CPO can be legally and financially delivered.
Located on Union Street in the city centre, the Egyptian Halls has been on the national Buildings at Risk Register since 1990, with its upper floors vacant for over 30 years. Despite council engagement with the building’s owners, its condition has deteriorated in recent years.
In February 2025, the council instigated the process to acquire the Egyptian Halls via a CPO, a legal tool which allows local authorities to support development by purchasing private property either for its own use or use by other parties. As part of the process, a local authority must determine if there are other interested parties, as well as considering any proposals which the building’s owners may bring forward.
The Egyptian Halls generated more than 20 notes of interest, with three bids submitted, including one from the current owners. Ediston’s plans are described as having scored significantly higher than the other proposals in all criteria, have a clear management and team structure, and include a defined timeline for development. The submission also includes in-principle commitments from potential new occupiers for the ground and first floor leisure uses and an international hotel operator for the upper floors.
Ediston’s team also includes specialists in fundraising for historic assets, who will work to identify additional sources of funding to deliver on the plans.
Councillor Ruairi Kelly, convener for built heritage and development at Glasgow City Council, said, “This is a compelling, detailed and well-progressed proposal for the Egyptian Halls. While there’s much work yet to do, today’s decision can be a significant milestone in securing a future for this architectural masterpiece while giving new life and new purposes to Glasgow’s built heritage.
“By their very nature CPOs are lengthy and complex. But it’s important for Glasgow’s past – and its present and future – that we get this process right and bring this incredible building back to the heart of city life.”
Once both a sufficiently robust case for a CPO and terms between the council and Ediston are in place, a report will come back to the relevant council committee to proceed with the promotion of the CPO and to enter into a legally-binding agreement with the developer.
