HRH The Princess Royal opens FirstGroup’s new HQ

Aberdeen based FirstGroup played host to a Royal visit as HRH The Princess Royal, President, Save the Children, formally opened its new £20m headquarters and bus depot.

The transport group also revealed that it has raised more than £2.8 million in cash and in kind over three years for its national charity partner, Save the Children, of which HRH The Princess Royal is President.

HRH The Princess Royal spoke to First staff today and was effusive in her praise of FirstGroup and its 130,000 staff for their support of Save the Children and its work helping the 4million children in poverty in the UK.

Chief Executive of FirstGroup, Sir Moir Lockhead said: “It is a tremendous honour to have HRH The Princess Royal officially open our new headquarters and bus depot.  We now have wonderful facilities for our Group staff and one of the best and greenest bus depots in Britain.  I hope we’ve respected the history of the original granite building while at the same time creating a 21st Century working environment for our staff and from which we can run our international business.   It remains the case that although we have a global reach, our services are part of the local community we serve.”

Speaking about the £2.8million that his company has raised in cash and in kind for Save the Children, Sir Moir Lockhead added: “Our staff throughout the UK have embraced Save the Children in a way we could not have predicted.  From running marathons, losing weight and shaving heads, our people have been overwhelmingly supportive.  I am extremely proud that the partnership has raised such a fantastic amount so far.”

Douglas Rouse, Director of Corporate Partnerships at Save the Children said: “FirstGroup has been a key partner of Save the Children since 2007 and by supporting our UK programme is highly committed to helping us challenge the unacceptable levels of severe and persistent child poverty in the UK. We are incredibly grateful for FirstGroup’s amazing support, worth £2.8m to date through corporate donations, staff fundraising and very generous gifts in kind. Together we are directly changing children’s lives and also raising vital awareness of this hidden issue among the UK public. We are pleased to be able to offer the support of our President, HRH The Princess Royal to our partnership with FirstGroup and are delighted that she could join us today.”

Sir Moir Lockhead escorted HRH The Princess Royal on a tour of the new headquarters and bus depot which concluded with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque outside First’s historic 1862 granite building.

Other guests included: FirstGroup Chairman and Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management Martin Gilbert, The Lord Provost Peter Stephen, Leader of Aberdeen City Council John Stewart, Nicol Stephen MSP, Fergus Drake Head of UK Programmes and Douglas Rouse Director of Corporate Partnership from Save the Children.

More than 200 people are located at the new headquarters and over 500 staff based at the new bus depot.  In total the site covers over eight acres.

Aberdeen City Council approved plans for the new headquarters and bus depot on 21st June 2007 at a meeting of the Council’s Planning Committee.  Stewart Milne Construction won the contract to build the new facilities and work commenced in April 2008 with completion in June 2010.

The new headquarters feature some of the latest advances in design.  For example:

• A proportion of the energy for the headquarters is derived through renewable sources including ground source heat pumps.
• Energy is saved through innovations such as movement responsive lighting.
• The façade of the historic 1862 listed building on King Street has been retained and is the focal point of the new development.
• The 1862 building will house a museum charting the history of the building and transport in Aberdeen.

The new bus depot features:

• New vehicle lifts.
• Full length electronically-controlled pits.
• Improved storage and training facilities.
• Low energy intelligent lighting that dims when natural daylight is available and only come on when someone is in the room.
• A Building Management System which senses when a door is opened and automatically shuts down the heating within those areas to minimise heat loss.
• New fuel tanks fitted with intelligent monitoring which allows instantaneous readings of all fluids and will automatically re-order supplies. The system orders only to a capacity of -10% to avoid overfilling and reduce environmental risks. It also detects any water contamination.

The First Minister, Alex Salmond, laid the last foundations of the building in August 2008.  He said at the time: “Scotland welcomes the commitment of FirstGroup to retain and develop its global headquarters in this country. First’s £20 million investment is further evidence that Aberdeen is a great place to do business.”

The site was previously used as an army barracks and in May 2010 FirstGroup welcomed around 130 Highlanders from 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) as they performed a special ceremony to pay tribute to their former home.

FirstGroup headquarters, 395 King Street, Aberdeen