Glasgow misses out on Channel 4 HQ relocation

Glasgow has failed to make the shortlist of cities to become the new base for Channel 4, it has emerged.

The bid, led by broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove and backed by the Scottish Government, came after the publicly-backed broadcaster announced it was moving around 300 staff to a new HQ outside London.

Channel 4 has announced the shortlist as Birmingham, Greater Manchester and Leeds, with the winner to be announced in the autumn.

It is understood Birmingham may be the favourite as it is within three hours of London.

Glasgow will still be considered for one of two smaller ‘creative hubs’ alongside Cardiff and Bristol as well as the three in the main shortlist.

Jonathan Allan, chief commercial officer of Channel 4, said: "Our visits to the 13 shortlisted cities over the last month were incredibly inspiring and I'd like to thank all of those involved for the huge amounts of creativity they demonstrated and the excitement for Channel 4 and what we could achieve together.

"We have again had to take some very difficult decisions on which cities to take forward to the next stage, but we believe the six cities we have selected are best able to deliver against our vision and requirements for the new National HQ and Creative Hubs.