Agreements for a further 62,183 sq ft have been signed by oil and gas company Cairn Energy PLC and Scottish-headquartered UK law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn. The businesses will take 32,722 sq ft and 29,461 sq ft of Grade A office space respectively.

These latest deals follow the pre-letting of 280,000 sq ft of office space in Haymarket Three last July on a 20-year lease to independent investment partnership, Baillie Gifford, for its new head office.

Once complete, Haymarket Edinburgh will comprise 380,000 sq ft of Grade A office space in three buildings, both of which are expected to achieve BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings.

Masterplanned by globally renowned architects Foster + Partners, the development is located at the heart of a major transport hub in one of the city’s established commercial districts.

Designed with a strong focus on the natural environment and occupier wellbeing, the office accommodation will offer a wide range of health and wellbeing amenities, including smart building technology, extensive cycle storage and EV charging points. A hotel, shops and leisure facilities will be configured around a significant landscaped public realm for the benefit of the local community and business district.

Aaron Pope, director, asset management at M&G Real Estate, said: “As major investors and employers in Edinburgh ourselves, M&G saw an opportunity to regenerate this derelict part of the city, which culminated in the purchase of the site in 2018 on behalf of Prudential’s five million policy holders.

“As an asset owner and an asset manager, we can finance significant projects and use our asset management experience to deliver ambitious, high-quality projects, which improve communities and provide a sustained income for our customers and clients.”

Paul Curran, chief executive of Edinburgh-based Qmile Group, added: “These latest pre-lets to Cairn Energy and Shepherd and Wedderburn show the continued confidence in Edinburgh’s commercial property market.

“They also reflect the desire of blue-chip businesses to be in the highest quality, most sustainable office space and surrounding environment which is served by excellent transport links.

“We are scheduled to complete building one in August 2022 and, at that point, we will really see the development come to life and become an integral part of the city centre after being derelict for over 52 years.”