PRINTABLE INVOICE
Abbey Studios Business Centre
280 High Street, Arbroath, Angus, DD11 1JF
This page is for occasions where a paper-based invoice is requested
There is a PDF printable pro forma invoice available…
Pro Forma Invoice ~ PDF Printable
Click Here
This document is to guarantee a paper-based invoice if one is needed
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FLOOR PLAN GUIDE
Office Guide Plan: Abbey Studios, 280 High Street, Arbroath, Angus, D11 1JF.
^^ Ground Floor: Abbey Studios, 280 High Street, Arbroath, Angus, DD11 1JF ^^
^^^ 1st & 2nd Floors: Endeavour House, 1 James Street, Arbroath, Angus, DD11 1JP ^^
PLEASE NOTE THESE OLD DRAWINGS (ABOVE) ARE BASED ON THE ORIGINAL TITLE DEEDS.
PLEASE DO NOT SCALE THE MEASUREMENTS, AS THESE ARE JUST FLOORPLAN GUIDES.
Historical Note: The Ground Floor is legally separate from the Upper Floors…
Abbey Studios: Click Here
Endeavour House, 1 to 5 James Street: Click Here
Source: Click Here
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ABBEY STUDIOS
Photographed Before The Renovation…
^^ 280 High Street – Before Work Started ^^
The next photograph is AFTER the renovation…
^^^ 280 High Street Entrance ^^^
Our company aim is to provide quality offices and shop accommodation at affordable prices.
This is part of our…
“High Street Rescue Initiative.”
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More Before and After Details!
The building, now known as Abbey Studios, had previously lain empty for several years up until our company purchased it on 28th February 2020 (frustratingly, just days before the pandemic lockdowns began).
In its historic carnation, almost 60 years ago, this was the Palais De Dance. On 7th November 1961 it hosted the singer Gene Vincent (here). This was the place to go to in Arbroath for nightlife and live music. It can be difficult to believe nowadays that this location hosted one of the major singers of the day…
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Latterly, and for over 20 years this building then had a regular clientele who would insure their cars and houses during the time as Swinton Insurance Angus branch.
Sadly, after a little difficulty at the Manchester HQ in 2013 (here) Swinton Insurance closed many branches including their large 3-storey property at Arbroath…
Following this, there were several years of emptiness, deterioration and dilapidation at the High Street/James Street building….
^^^ James Street Elevation ^^^
^^^ Before Renovation ^^^
This was a great shame as with Arbroath Abbey a few feet away, directly opposite, makes this part of town particularly picturesque.
Fortunately after a lot of work, this building is coming back to life. Both in terms of the structure and fabric of the property and people seem to like fresh new premises We already have offices rented on the basis of the signs in the windows. The imminent listing on Rightmove and pro-active work to support new businesses will, from 28 years experience doing this, ensure the 280 High Street/1 James Street building comes back to useful life and hosts new jobs and growing businesses. Again.
^^^ James Street Elevation ^^^
^^^ After Renovation ^^^
After a major restoration, including over-engineering the insulation requirements we are delighted that this building is coming back to life and ensuring this part of the Arbroath High Street is beginning to look neat and tidy again. Especially with such an historic Abbey right next door.
With energy prices rocketing, it is good fortune that our director, David Rutherford negotiated a very good rate on high-spec., RWA45 insulation batts. Even if he did have to buy an articulated lorry load to ensure the major discount in price…
^^^ Articulated Lorry In James Street ^^
“De-Pack A New Batch”
As a catchy tune Gene Vincent might have sung.
This ample source of quality insulation ensured we could reverse engineer all of the “empty” wall voids that were evident in the old stud walling at 280 High Street/1 James Street during the period when old, damp plasterboard was removed (after the leaky roof was completely overhauled and repaired).
When we did this extra insulation work in other projects, the heating bills fell by 60 to 70 percent. Hence the almost OCD interest in what is otherwise a very dry topic of insulation batts…
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.^^^ More Batts Than Alfred Hitchcock Could Muster ^^^
^^^ An HGV Lorry Load of Insulation Throughout Abbey Studios ^^
^^ & Enough Spare For One of The Hotels As Well ^^
Batts Everywhere ~ the building renovation variety not the vampire type (the roof voids were checked – not a flying nor roosting bat in sight).
In case you haven’t seen the insulation batts, the photograph above shows what they look like (normally hid from sight).
Instead of putting back ordinary “grey” stud walling, the specialist “pink” (Building Reg) fire retardant plasterboard was used, and double sheeted with gap overlap into the bargain…
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^^ Replacing The Old “Woodchip” Wallboards ^^
^^ With Pink “Fire Retardant” Gyproc Plasterboard ^^
^^ Double-Overlap For Over Engineered Safety ^^
Worth remembering the directors are fire-fighters and police officers, so safety against fire risk is always over-engineered in our buildings.
From properly replaced gyproc wall boarding to new plaster. There is something tactile and innately satisfying about a freshly plastered and clean-cut wall…
Then fully rewired and state-of-the-art fire safety systems installed along with data-point wiring to reverse-engineer tenants’ internet and telecom needs. There are currently 8 offices and 2 stores remaining available for rent as of 30th June 2025. These are of a size and lease level that should suit most local businesses…
Here is an example of a ground floor unit. The large windows are excellent for locally publicising your business and at £7 a day rent are very affordable. We keep our rental levels as low as practicably possible as the main aim is to bring the High Streets back to life (81 buildings in 28 years).
It is important to note that whilst heating bills will be a lot less now that the building has been fully insulated, the cost of this is fairly and accurately distributed.
During the complete rewire, every office has had a bespoke electricity circuit installed. Each is separately metered…
^^^ 280 High Street ^^^
Dedicated Meter Supply For Each Single Office.
The electricity invoices have been delayed
due to serious problems at SSE plc (click here)
One of our directors started a money-advice-charity in 1997 and as a result, he discovered, by 2025 the energy industry is in a state of collapse with more than 50 bankrupt energy companies: click here.
The diabolical SSE plc electricity company (as evidenced by 4,000 very unhappy customers: click here), have caused the Abbey Studios electricity billig a year-long nightmare.
The result? An “accidental” overbill.
The regular direct debit on the whole of Abbey Studios as paid by the landlord…
=> Monthly electricity went (without notice received from SSE) from £198.74 to £19,428.46 a month.
This was utterly WRONG. That has now been confirmed as WRONG by SSE plc at pre-litigation…
The directors of Abbey Studios asked SSE plc NOT to do this AGAIN and to invoice an ACCURATE electricity bill.
=> Instead, SSSE plc took ANOTER £19,428.46. Totalling: £38,856.92 from the account of the landlord’s main company account.
This was utterly WRONG. No more can be written about SSE plc here at this time as litigation against SSE plc has not yet been resolved to the landlord’s satisfaction. All we want are accurate bills and for SSE plc to answer their telephones without leaving SSE plc customers “on hold” waiting for: 1 to 2 hours.”
The actual invoice is, by the landlord’s reckoning (for the whole building) and confirmed by SSE plc, likely to be £3,500 out of “estimates” for the past year. Indeed, an amount in excess of this has already been paid to SSE plc from the landlord to protect tenants whilst SSE plc sort out the definitive electricity bill.
The landlords will PROTECT tenants’ at Abbey Studios from nasty financial shocks.
More details on this, and it the proof or the proverbial pudding is in the actions that are being taken to protect tenants from shocking electricity invoices
As of July 2025, the actual electricity invoice for each office/unit will be rendered via old fashioned paper invoice. These will be reasonable due to a lot of insulation that has been installed. plus the protection the landlords arrange for their tenants ~ any backlog in electricity bills will have a majority paid by SSE plc and as a gesture of good will, the landlords.
Frustrating as a significant amount of leakage was avoidable with fairly basic maintenance that had been left unattended to for several years.
Added to which the re-plumbing, new plastering, redecoration, recarpeting, new fire safety system + new security systems installations helped bring this property back to useful and viable life.
One surprisingly popular idea was the trial “covid-safer” office.
This is for staff who require disability regulation protection and adds an extra tier of safety during these uncertain Covid times. It pioneers a new direction away from open-plan offices to something for which we are experiencing a significantly increased demand: closed-plan offices.
A Covid-laden cough in an open-plan office can put folk on edge and several may be seen heading briskly for an oddly healthy option: the cigarette break outside ~ far away from their Coviddy-coughing colleague!
At Abbey Studios, the added Covid-safer protection of this mini-entry, specially vented lobby is becoming especially popular. So much so that our next project, the new Dundee business centre will have more of these built into that renovation.
^^^ 280 High Street ^^^
^^^ 280 High Street ^^^
Aerial Photo During Refurbishment
Many of these Abbey Studio “business incubator units” will nurture and grow onwards to their own, bespoke premises.
Thereby helping ensure the High Street stays healthy and we renovate and re-open many other closed shops.
Our company has already started buying (smaller standard sized) empty shops and closed offices throughout Arbroath ready to fill those with newstart and established businesses.
We have onside a group of 111 friends and colleagues from when we were a small public limited company…
Argyll Group plc.
Within the ranks of our shareholder base, we have many who are willing and able to assist/mentor newstart business folk. A considerable library of knowledge and skillset to ensure, when needed, that newer business start-up tenants have a helping hand.
Though “established” businesses looking to double their size or halve their costs at a newly renovated premises are also very welcome to rent at Abbey Studios.
Our aim is to renovate and re-open at least 12 empty shops/offices/light industrial units in Arbroath in the next 12 to 24 months.
If all goes as well as the previous High Street renovation project in Argyll that was completed in 2008, then we anticipate rolling this current shop and office re-opening initiative out to all the main towns in the UK.
That is likely to require us going public again, but if it means the High Street is kept alive, then that is worth the red tape of a plc.
CONTACTS & VIEWINGS
If you would like to view one of our offices, or indeed any other premises within our group, including shops, industrial units, petrol garages, hotels etc., please contact our initial number via text or normal phone call…
Tel/Text: 0757 2768 795
Best wishes
Scotslion Ltd & Argyll Group Ltd.
Abbey Studios, 1 James Street, Arbroath, Angus, DD11 1JF.