FIRST Minister Alex Salmond joined Olympic medal hero Sir Chris Hoy to officially declare the Maxim office park "open for business" last night.

FIRST Minister Alex Salmond joined Olympic medal hero Sir Chris Hoy to officially declare the Maxim office park "open for business" last night.

In less than two years, Maxim has risen from the remnants of the Chunghwa Picture Tubes site in North Lanarkshire to become the UK's largest speculative office development, with the potential to attract 8000 jobs.

With the site nearing completion, Mr Salmond joined more than 400 guests in celebrating the project's swift progress.

The £330million development now provides 10 international class office buildings with more than 756,000sq ft of grade A office space enclosed in a landscaped environment offering a range of amenities and leisure facilities - including a PGA accredited nine-hole putting green supported by leading Scots golfer Alastair Forsyth..

During the last few months, Maxim has attracted a wide range of high profile lettings deals, allowing the park to provide a wide range of fully operational and high quality amenities prior to occupiers moving on site.

Mr Salmond said: "This major development demonstrates great confidence in both the Scottish economy and North Lanarkshire's highly skilled, versatile workforce.

"It has the capacity to serve as a hub for enterprise in North Lanarkshire, providing opportunities for new and developing businesses to prosper at its prime location at Eurocentral.

"Facilities such as Maxim Office Park play a key role in supporting the economic recovery."

The Maxim development is entirely privately funded by a partnership bringing together Tritax group and the Bank of Scotland.

Chief executive Karen Campbell said: "In just less than two years Maxim has risen from the ground on a scale unprecedented in Scotland, and indeed the UK.

"We are justifiably proud of what we have created, offering businesses the opportunity for an unparalleled working lifestyle.

"Our ambitious vision is now a reality.

"We have completed, well ahead of schedule, the first stage of what we set out to do. Maxim is no longer an intangible concept - it's real, it's happening and it's here.

"There is now a real confidence in the market that Maxim has got it right.

"Our pipeline of interest offers a promising long-term forecast of economic investment in Scotland."