Council can't rule out £25k payout for Glasgow fire vape shop

Glasgow City Council has not ruled out a possible £25,000 award for the shop at 105 Union Street under a business recovery fund, despite the shop’s failure to pay non-domestic rates and its absence from a national tobacco and vape retailer registry.

The fund was established to support businesses operating from the affected premises at the corner of Union and Gordon streets.

Image by Gordon Terris (Image: Image by Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

A spokesperson for the council said to our sister title, The Herald: "It’s not possible to talk about hypothetical individual applications.

"However, all applications will be assessed against the eligibility criteria – and outstanding debts, for example, NDR arrears, would be deducted from any awards."

The shop in question, Junaid Retail Limited trading as Scot’s World, is listed as the non-domestic rates payer for 105 Union Street.

The company is directed by Ahsan Ali.

The property has a rateable value of £18,800, making it liable for annual business rates of £9,362.40 before any relief is applied.

However, the 2025-26 rates bill was returned to the council marked "addressee gone away."

The building’s landlord, Afton Estates, confirmed to the council that Junaid Retail remained the occupier.

The council then redirected the bill to the company’s registered address at Regent Way in Hamilton.

The business later changed its registered address to a residential property in Shawlands after media enquiries.

To qualify for the relief fund, businesses must be the primary leaseholder, registered for non-domestic rates, and operating in the retail, hospitality, or leisure sectors.

Any arrears owed will be deducted from the grant before payment is made.

Applicants are also expected to be properly registered and licensed.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has formally handed over the site to Glasgow City Council. (Image: Colin Mearns)

The Glasgow Times previously reported that the shop was not listed on the Scottish Government’s official registry for tobacco and vape retailers.

Under the Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Act 2016, it is an offence to sell nicotine vapour products from unregistered premises.

This carries a maximum penalty of £20,000 and up to six months in prison.

Paul Sweeney MSP raised concerns about the eligibility of the vape shop for public support.

He said: "I think the tone should be set early on that we expect the highest standards of probity from traders that are engaged in this activity.

"The continued non-payment of non-domestic rates by this retail unit does raise concerns about why we would be potentially compensating them in any form, though at least the outstanding balance of non-domestic rates would be offset on any compensation payment that would be made to the traders.

"It does seem that they could be taking a tighter approach to negligent practices that have led to the disaster in the first place.

"I think they ought to look at very closely that particular trading structure behind that shop unit and what was going on there before giving any public funds to them."

The £4.4 million recovery fund was announced by Glasgow City Council on Monday and is backed by the Scottish Government.

Council leader Susan Aitken (Image: Robert Perry/ PA)

Council leader Susan Aitken said: "It was very clear, even as the catastrophic fire at Union Street was still burning, that this incident was going to have a huge impact on a really wide variety of businesses – including a great number of small and independent businesses – in our city centre.

"Supporting them has been a key priority for the city – and opening this Fire Recovery Fund, with the backing of the Scottish Government, is a really significant step.

"We’re already in contact with many of the eligible businesses, but we hope to hear from traders as soon as possible so we can do what we can to help them get back in business."