Glasgow council backs £600,000 grant for Egyptian Halls redevelopment

Glasgow’s Egyptian Halls will be backed by grant funding of up to £600,000 by the council to support development of the derelict A-listed building on Union Street.

It comes as the preferred developer, Ediston, looks to move forward with plans for the Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson designed building, almost three decades after it was vacated.

Councillor Ruairi Kelly, Depute Leader and Convener for Housing, Development and Built Heritage at Glasgow City Council, said: “This award is another key stage in the work to bring back to life an outstanding example of Glasgow’s built heritage. The funding will help to support the development of an exciting proposal to return what is a long-term vacant and deteriorating heritage building back to full and productive use. The redevelopment and repurposing of fantastic historic buildings such as this is a key part of our strategy to create even more attractive and remarkable places in our city centre.”

The site was the subject of a long and bitter battle between its owners and Glasgow City Council.

In February 2025, the council approved investigation of the potential use of Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) powers in relation to the Egyptian Halls building on Union Street. In August 2025, an open call was issued to establish if there was a credible development proposal for the future development and repurposing of the building capable of supporting any future CPO process. Of the three submissions received, Ediston’s achieved the highest scoring and thus became the preferred development proposal.

Ediston’s submission identified the need for public funding alongside private investment to enable the repurposing of the building. In February 2026, a council committee also gave officers authority to enter into negotiations with Ediston to agree terms for a back-to-back CPO agreement and to continue investigating the use of CPO powers. To progress negotiations on the back-to-back CPO agreement, Ediston must undertake further technical and professional work which includes property and engineering surveys to further develop its initial proposal and support any future consideration of the use of CPO powers.

Ediston will use this grant funding to undertake the agreed technical and professional work required to develop the preferred proposal and inform negotiations on the back-to-back CPO agreement and support any future consideration of the use of CPO powers.

The grant funding approved at a council committee today (5 November) will come from the council’s £10million ‘Bringing Property and Land Back Into Productive Use’ budget. This budget is a strategic capital and investment programme which will support a range of interventions across council-owned assets, privately owned properties and wider regeneration opportunities where there is demonstrable public interest and clear alignment with council priorities.