The Union Street fire, which devastated a listed building and temporarily closed Glasgow Central, started in a vape shop at 105 Union Street which had failed to pay almost £10,000 in non-domestic rates (NDR), commonly known as business rates.
The rates are set by the Scottish Government and collected by local authorities.
The company which owns the block in which it was housed had previously taken advantage of a tax loophole to get 100% rates relief, with the vape shop moving in four months after that loophole was closed.
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Between 2020 and 2024, Afton Estates Ltd took advantage of a 100% tax break called Empty Property Relief which granted business in listed buildings 100% exemption from business rates in perpetuity.
From April 1 2023, Holyrood devolved the power to set Empty Property Relief (EPR) to councils, with Glasgow City Council keeping the existing reliefs in place until April 1 the following year.
The local authority then closed the loophole and 105 Union Street was no longer eligible for EPR, which was paid in full until the vape shop moved in.
The shop was run by Junaid Ltd, trading as Scot’s World, from August 1 2024 until the fire but it never paid the rates.
In the wake of the fire, our sister title The Herald submitted a request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 asking Glasgow City Council how much it was owed in NDR, and the deficit for each of the last four years.
The local authority revealed it is currently owed a cumulative £88,799,117.54, having billed £1.4bn over the financial years of 2021-22 to 2024-25, meaning a little over 6% has gone uncollected.
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Glasgow City Council said it was owed £16.6m for 2021-22; £20.6m for 22-23; £21m for 2023-24; and £30m for 2024-25.
The local authority said that the higher figure for the last financial year may be higher in part due to the aforementioned changes to EPR.
The shop in question was also not legally registered to sell vapes.
Our sister title The Herald asked Glasgow City Council for the total levied in fines against shops illegally selling vapes and/or tobacco, and how many businesses that applied to.
Between 2021-22 and 2025-26, a total of 49 businesses were fined for operating illegally.
A total of £13,600 was levied, with no fines issued in the first year followed by £400 in 2022-23; £5000 in 2023-24; £5,800 in 2024-25; and £2,400 in 2025-26.
The fire has led to calls for tighter regulation on vape shops, which the government said it would look at “with an open mind”.
First Minister John Swinney: “If the fire did start in the vape shop, which is what I’ve certainly been briefed was the case, then it will raise issues about the safety of such premises and it’s vital that we examine all of those issues with an open mind.
“I give the public an assurance the Government will do exactly that and determine whether there are safety issues that have to be addressed.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “I think in the fullness of time there’s going to be a number of issues that we have to look at.
“There’s of course going to have to be issues around safety, particularly around vape shops and many of the batteries associated with that.”
Patrick Harvie of the Scottish Greens said: “Scotland cannot continue to let harmful industries operate with fewer checks than a corner shop selling alcohol, and change is long overdue.
“Storing cheap, mass produced batteries is inherently dangerous, so stronger regulation and scrutiny of businesses doing so is urgently needed.”
