Morgan Stanley grows its operations in Glasgow
Morgan Stanley recently took two extra floors in its Glasgow offices, giving the bank scope to accommodate 250 more employees, in addition to the 1,000+ it already employs in the city.
It’s a far cry from 11 years ago, when an initial team of six employees was hired locally to transition a settlements function from London. The pace of growth has been steady but relentless, and the company’s Glasgow workforce has expanded over that time to encompass six different divisions.
Today, Glasgow is Morgan Stanley’s second largest office in Europe after London, with key functions serving operations all over the globe. A large part of the Glasgow operation’s success stems from the availability of a highly skilled pool of talent.
Margaret Wallace, Head of Operations for Morgan Stanley in Glasgow, has witnessed the company’s growth first hand. She explained: “During the boom years of the 1990s, the London operation was under pressure for space and talent, so the company had to look further afield to expand. We looked at many of the UK’s larger cities for a location, but it was Glasgow that ticked all the boxes for us.
“It had lots of quality, affordable office space, an easy commute to London and an already established financial services industry. However, most attractive of all was access to a welleducated workforce – the product of four universities and an internationally renowned business school in and around the city,” Wallace added.
As an example, the international reputation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland has led to Morgan Stanley’s Finance division establishing Glasgow as a centre of excellence for the Firms’ legal entity work.
Allison Holmes, Head of Finance for Morgan Stanley in Glasgow, believes that Glasgow has become a force of its own and is a serious contender when any major relocation is being considered within Morgan Stanley. She said: “We’re not only a significant importer of talent but also a major exporter, as many of our people have started their careers with us and are now working in other parts of the global business. Employees have also built highly successful careers locally, and many have had the opportunity to work in several of the six divisions.”
