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October 30, 2024
Alex Timperley
5 mins
2024 has been extremely busy in the Manchester office market, and October was arguably the biggest month of the year so far.
Big moves, fresh expansions and new entrants into the city have all been announced this month, giving Manchester yet another burst of momentum ahead of 2025. In fact, the Manchester Office Agents Forum (MOAF) believes that the city is on track to see more than 1.3m sqft of workspace rented by the end of the year.
We’ve rounded up the most interesting and exciting deals here in our October 2024 Manchester office market summary.
Virgin Media O2 announced this month that it would be relocating to the city centre from Wythenshawe and bringing 1,500 staff into the heart of Manchester.
The company selected Island on John Dalton Street as its new headquarters and agreed a 10-year lease. Island is being developed by HBD and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, and is targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating as part of its plan to be Net Zero workspace.
Patricia Cobian, Virgin Media O2’s Chief Financial Officer, said: “This significant investment demonstrates our commitment to retaining a sizeable presence in Manchester, with a flagship new office that places us in the heart of the city’s thriving technology hub.
“The state-of-the art office will provide a vibrant space for our employees in the North West to get together in person and collaborate, meeting our needs now and helping to attract future talent. Improving our people’s experience was a key focus in the selection process, and Island offers our employees a wide range of amenities and facilities that are not currently available to them.”
Insurance giant AXA has become the first tenant of Gilbanks’ new space at St. Michael’s in central Manchester. They have left a 6,000 sqft space on King Street and upgraded to a 34,000 sqft flexi office in the new Manchester tower.
The company plans to move more than 80 staff into St. Michael’s and make the most of all the benefits that flexible workspace can offer. This is the latest demonstration that even large enterprise firms can benefit by choosing a flexi space, not just start-ups and scale-ups.
Mary Heatherington, group property and procurement director from AXA UK, explained the thinking behind the move, saying: “No.1 St Michael’s offers us flexible office space in a prime city location, plus great transport links to make travel easy for our colleagues. We look forward to moving in early next year and enjoying its many benefits.”
The second big deal done at St. Michael’s this month sees Channel 4 expand its presence in the building. The broadcaster will now occupy the whole of the 8th floor which includes a large terrace with views across the city’s skyline.
The move is a part of Channel 4’s commitment to national and regional expansion supporting plans to reach 600 roles outside London as it approaches the fifth anniversary of opening its regional bases.
Alex Mahon, chief executive at Channel 4, said: “Channel 4 has always led the way in representation and now we are going even further, strengthening our Nations and Regions commitment and offering our people the opportunity to relocate out of London and making all new roles available at any of our regional locations.
“This is a really special moment for Channel 4 as we continue our significant momentum to grow our presence across the UK. Channel 4 has always led the way in representation and now we are going even further. Manchester has always been a really important base for Channel 4, and we’re excited to be working with Gary Neville and his team at Relentless to grow our presence in this great city.”
Koba is one of the UK’s most innovative flexible workspace operators and we are delighted to see them open their doors at 100 Barbirolli Square.
It’s the company’s first site in Manchester and has been designed and built to offer sustainable, flexible workspaces for companies big and small.
Paul Nellist, Managing Director, Koba, said: “It was incredibly important to mark the start of Koba’s journey with a venture that enables us to implement our sustainability manifesto and demonstrate that we can create premium workspaces that are demonstrably better for people and the planet.
“Having worked closely with our partners to devise a design framework that focuses on the circular economy, we are excited that our vision will be realised at 100 Barbirolli Square.”
Bruntwood SciTech’s acquisition of the 28,000 sqft Pinnacle building will allow the company to expand the neighbouring Pall Mall building which is currently undergoing a £30m refurbishment.
Forming part of Bruntwood’s targeted £5bn of innovation workspaces the company wants to amass by 2032, The Pinnacle will form part of a 120,000 sqft workspace designed for science, tech and innovation businesses to flourish in Manchester city centre.
Ciara Keeling, chief operating officer of Bruntwood SciTech, said the acquisition and redevelopment of Pall Mall “reaffirms our commitment to the North West’s – and indeed the UK’s – innovation economy”.
“By adding further state-of-the-art workspace designed to support the science, tech, and innovation sector, we are creating even more opportunities for businesses operating within that area to collaborate and grow, and ultimately working towards our ambitious goal of creating a £5bn portfolio by 2032.”
“The acquisition was also ideally positioned to cluster with existing Bruntwood SciTech workspaces in the city centre, bolstering the community and knowledge-sharing that is already taking place across our city centre innovation hubs.”
Tax consultancy CBTax opened its new office at No 1 Spinningfields this month as part of a wider expansion. The Northamptonshire firms has taken almost 5,500 sqft on the 13th floor under a 10-year lease.
As the firm continues to grow its presence across the UK, this new Manchester base will form a big part of its future.
Chris Beale and Stephen Beale, founders of CBTax, said: “We’re incredibly excited about CBTax’s expansion into Manchester. We cannot wait to speak with the incredibly talented people who live in and around the city and add them to our already experienced and hard-working team.”
MHA doubles office space
Audit and business advisory firm MHA has grown fast and established a large team of specialist advisors in Manchester. Now, they have taken an additional 3,200 sqft of office space at 80 Mosley Street to serve a total of 66 staff and give the company a solid base to continue growing.
The expansion includes a major office refurbishment to enhance staff wellbeing, cut MHA’s carbon emissions and minimise waste created in the workspace. The fit-out was done by Claremont and diverted 98% of waste to landfill and contributed 428kg of floor tiles to the ReStart programme. In total, this saved over half a tonne of carbon emissions.
PRP Architects move to Princess Street
PRP Architects – otherwise knownas PRP Group – has moved into a 2,530 sqft office in 40 Princess Street. They are the first tenants and have signed a 10-year lease.
The Grade II Listed building has undergone an extensive refurbishment and offers both fully fitted out and conventional office spaces to rent.
Alister Weir, partner at PRPGroup, said: “We are delighted to finally be moving into Forty Princess Street having completed our studio fit-out. The existing structure and historic character led us to create an open-plan space which maximised the natural light and heritage features.”
“Our team are thrilled with the move to this new location in central Manchester and are enjoying all the additional communal facilities that Forty Princess Street has to offer.”
SGi Consulting doubles floorspace
SGi Consulting has doubled its floor space at Phoenix House on Cross Street. The engineering firm will now occupy the entire third and fourth floors of the building due to needing more desk space than anticipated.
Despite offering hybrid working, the company says that most staff choose to commute into the office each day, therefore more space is needed and this expansion became necessary.
SGi managing director, Emyr Jones, said: “Over the past 10 years SGi Consulting Engineers have seen a steady growth which has continued despite headwinds in the development and construction market over the last 12 months.
“The number of projects that have been instructed during 2024 provides us with the confidence to invest in growth.The additional space in Phoenix House provides a comfortable workspace for all existing staff to collaborate and will help us attract the calibre of team members required to maintain growth.”
SGi is the latest example of how providing a great office and working environment can persuade people back to their desks rather than forcing them back. See more examples of how to do this by reading our case studies.
Manchester’s office market is constantly evolving and there are more options than ever before for companies looking to move.
If you’re looking to move before the end of this year or in 2025, make sure you understand how to get the best workspace deal, know the 7 things you need in your office in 2025, and get the benefits of involving your staff in the process.
For everything else? Getting expert help from people who know the market inside out is the best way of ensuring that you find the perfect workspace. Our team are ready and waiting to offer the best impartial advice and help you find the office of your dreams – get in touch today for a free consultation!
Want to find your next leased, managed or serviced office space to rent? Book a call with our team today.
