Legal and General will invest £82m into forward funding the first phase element, which will consist of 346 build to rent homes on what is one Glasgow’s most prominent gap sites.

The scheme will make up part of Drum’s plan to transform the 3.6 acre Merchant City with a mix of homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, amenities and landscaped open space.

The 17-storey rental flats tower at Candleriggs Square will comprise a mixture of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom properties, including six duplex penthouse apartments.

The building will include a dining space, gym, business lounge and games room. Commercial units included within the scheme will all meet a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

Candleriggs Square will mark L&G BTR Fund’s second investment in Glasgow, last year having committed to the forward funding of a 324-home rental scheme at neighbouring Buchanan Wharf, again using local developer Drum Property Group to deliver the project.

Graeme Bone, managing director of Drum Property Group, said: “The L&G deal is testament to the unwavering commitment and confidence we have placed in both the Candleriggs Square site and Glasgow city centre, even during these most testing of times.

“This will be a huge boost to the area and to local businesses, who are in desperate need of some good news right now. We can now look forward to a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform a very special area which has always been at the centre of Glasgow’s commercial and social development.”