The purchase comes as EE prepares to relocate its 450 staff to Glasgow by November.

The building, occupied by EE and its predecessors since 1999, is situated on a prime six-acre site with ample parking and views of the River Clyde. The acquisition adds to the Easdales’ £900 million property portfolio, through their property investment branch, Dalglen, which includes housing projects across Scotland set to create over 3,000 new homes.

The Easdales said they were willing to work with EE and partners such as Scottish Enterprise, Inverclyde Council and the Scottish and UK Governments to see if the jobs could remain in Greenock.

Sandy Easdale said: “We’re pleased to add the EE building to our portfolio. It occupies a great location within Greenock, easily accessible by car and public transport and enjoys an outstanding view over the Clyde and towards the new Ocean Terminal facility.

“At this stage it seems unlikely that EE will reverse its decision to leave Greenock but we are more than willing to work with government and other partners to see if a solution can be found. We would be pleased to talk to the new Labour MP Martin McCluskey to see if he could bring his influence to bear with party leader Anas Sarwar to see if there is a solution.

“Another 450 jobs lost in Greenock would bring the total to 1,200 lost locally over the last 18 months which is a bitter pill to swallow for the region.”

James Easdale added: “One of the key priorities identified in Inverclyde’s economic strategy was to increase capacity to accommodate private sector jobs but if anything, the region cannot even hold onto many of the ones it has currently got.

“We are committed to working with others to see if we can keep EE in the town and if that is not possible, we will want to see if we can find a new tenant for the building who will bring jobs to the area.

“Inverclyde is a great place to work and live and it is vital that politicians play their part in making that case to businesses and investors more vigorously.”