The Gogarburn site was bought by RBS in June 2001. Proposed designs for the development of a campus-style global HQ were unveiled in February 2002, and in September 2002 planning permission was granted. Site work began almost immediately. The two - year building project has involved a workforce of more than 7,000 people. The building was completed in Spring 2005, ahead of schedule, enabling the first staff to move into their new offices in July 2005. The building is now fully occupied.

The campus's main building is designed around a central indoor "street" providing services and facilities for the 3,000 staff (max 3,250 capacity) who work at Gogarburn. The street features a supermarket, a chemist, a florist, and a dry cleaner. It has cafes for informal meetings and a 480-seater restaurant with terracing for those long, hot Scottish evenings. In fact even the main building has been designed with staff barbecues in mind.

Supporting buildings in the surrounding grounds include the Grade B listed Gogarburn House, now converted into a leisure club for staff featuring swimming pool, gym, dance and aerobics studios. The house's stable block, also listed, has become a nursery, while the original garden wall behind it now encloses modern sports pitches. There are jogging tracks and cycle trails in the grounds. Nearby, a newly - built conference centre has been equipped to cater for up to 300 delegates.