Strathy spends £340k furnishing principal’s swanky £1.2million townhouse

A place of useful learning… and lavish furnishing

luxury strathclyde townhouse

Strathclyde forked out an outrageous £1.2 million on a luxury townhouse in the West end’s Park Circus.

Not content with the interior feng shui, the uni top brass splashed a further £340,000 decking out the principal’s plush pad.

Fancy purchases included a £3,897 wardrobe, £99 toaster, a £1,180 chair, over £3,000 on mattresses and £6,000 on curtains.

According to the floor plan, the ground floor has two Corinthian pillars, a broad, sweeping staircase and a marble fireplace.

Strathclyde University campus.

 

Park Circus

The five-floored, four-bedroomed, three-officed, two-sitting roomed property was bought in December 2013 and contains living accommodation for Strath principal Sir Jim McDonald.

Principal Sir Jim McDonald

Sir Jim is the highest paid Uni head in Scotland.

It was revealed earlier this year his pay package increased by 7%, taking his annual earnings to around £330,000.

Figures show what Strathclyde spent on the property over the past year:

£142,000- refurbishment

£35,482- mechanical works

£45,000 – electrical works

£5,700 – survey drawings

 £6,654- new gas supply

The total costs came to £339,799.74.

Gary Paterson, USSA President, told The Tab: “We can accept that such a property could benefit the institution’s portfolio, but whilst the public sector is facing cuts and hardship it’s understandable many are shocked at the costs of these refurbishments.”

“Such expenditure when students are struggling to afford to stay on campus, with halls costs that match the price of a £4k wardrobe, is concerning because the money spent on refurbishments could have covered the halls cost of 83 students struggling on the breadline.”

Mary Senior, the Scotland Official at the University and College Union was quoted as saying, “Hardworking staff at Strathclyde University – especially those who are losing their jobs this summer – will no doubt be appalled to see that their employer fitted out a luxury home for the principal.”

Though that should be the end of the upgrades. In 2013 the University Court only approved, “the acquisition of a property up to a maximum value of £1.25 million with a maximum total expenditure of £1.5 million including refurbishment costs.”

 

Strathclyde University said: “We purchased the property in Park Circus to replace an existing property at Jordanhill. The property will be used for corporate events and business engagements.

The property also has living accommodation for the Principal, to be used when professional commitments require. The purchase will enhance the University’s property portfolio and be a long term investment for Strathclyde.”

So on the finance front they have, so to speak, shot their bolt, and hit the £1.5m cap. Though maybe there’s still a few hundred quid left over for a nice doormat.