A BUSINESS centre which was once a bustling cigarette factory has undergone a multi-million pound upgrade.

City Park has been given a £2.5million facelift and is being rebranded as CityPark.

The owners are aiming to attract new tenants to the Art Deco B-listed building in Alexandra Parade, Glasgow.

For three decades the WD and HO Wills tobacco plant manufactured cigarettes and cigars - including the top-selling Embassy range - until the East End site was axed in the early 1980s.

The complex was re-launched in 2002 as office accommodation spread over five floors.

US computer giant Dell was one of the first tenants when it launched a call centre in the building.

It used to employ more than 800 staff but a series of job cuts has reduced the workforce to around 550.

Saga and later Smooth Radio used to broadcast to the nation from the site until the plug was pulled.

Now the main tenant - other than Dell - is Glasgow City Council.

The building is also the city HQ for Aggreko Plc, the world's biggest temporary power generation company and a supplier of temper-ature control equipment.

But CityPark owners APAM Ltd hope new tenants will move in after they refurbished the reception and ground floor areas.

The facelift included more than 100,000sq ft of open office space, which is now up for let.

William Powell, at APAM, said: "The high spec and adaptable space available at CityPark presents the perfect opportunity for businesses looking to relocate or expand.

"I am confident the development will prove popular with occupiers looking for excellent value for money, location and accessibility."

Extra office accommo-dation has been created by converting part of the ground floor and first three floors, as well as building a rooftop on the fourth floor.

Agents hired to deal with potential occupiers also say there are retail and leisure amenities available on the ground floor in quadrangles around an open courtyard.

gordon.thomson@ eveningtimes.co.uk