Manchester Offices

[neil081273]

Bank of East Asia in Chinatown almost complete.






Entrance to Manchester One (formerly Portland House) opened up.

[monkey_rat]

BEA lifts the whole area massively and they've also done a good job of the square in front of Manchester one - much more of a big city feel.

[Slow Burn]

Yeah both look like big improvements. I've been out the country for a while so this is the first I've seen of the BEA development. Looks good, cheers for the update Neil

[neil081273]

Originally Posted by Slow Burn

Yeah both look like big improvements. I've been out the country for a while so this is the first I've seen of the BEA development. Looks good, cheers for the update Neil

You're very welcome. The BEA development seems to have been very low profile. Not even sure if they're occupying the full building. Still, it really does seem to expand Chinatown.

[Seasonedbest]

Originally Posted by monkey_rat

BEA lifts the whole area massively and they've also done a good job of the square in front of Manchester one - much more of a big city feel.

This is a joke surely. Lifts the whole area? China Town? Results in a big city feel?

Its a large glass add-on to a non-descript, low profile building. It has no impact at all unless you stand outside it.

[AJD1984]

Approved on 21 Dec.

Originally Posted by nq

App from the end of last month. They're creating a new main entrance at 35 Fountain St, splitting the RSA building on York St from the addition on Fountain Street, bricking up the connection between the two. Architects are 5plus.



From this (poor scans),



to,



With a cycle hub (240 capacity) behind.



Also a potential little street facing coffee/retail kiosk.

[jaymmu]

Bruntwood to create city-centre roof garden

Sunshine may be in short supply in Manchester but commercial property giant Bruntwood is planning for better weather with a scheme to create a landscaped roof garden at Blackfriars House in the city centre.

The family-owned firm has commissioned architects Roger Stevenson to finalise designs for the roof garden at the building in The Parsonage.

It is expected to be completed by the summer and will feature lawned breakout zones, decking and more than 30 trees. Recycled materials including artificial bark chippings made from shredded tyres will be used in the landscaping.

Bruntwood said the garden is intended to be an area where office workers can hold informal meetings or relax during screen breaks and lunchtimes. It could also be used for events.

Tenants at Blackfriars House include the Manchester International Festival team, patent and trademark attorneys Wilson Gunn, Radford Advertising, accountants White and Company and media business 3 Door Digital.

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereven...re-roof-garden

[neil]

Manchester will have strongest regional growth, says CBRE

8th January 2013

MANCHESTER'S city centre jobs market is set to grow at a faster pace than many other regional cities according to new data from property agent CBRE. Manchester should see office-based employment grow by 2.2% between 2013-17, compared with 1.5% in Liverpool. This prediction is on a par with Leeds, but ahead of Glasgow, Bristol, Edinburgh and Birmingham. But this will drive city centre rents which are expected to grow by 2.5% in 2013 and 1.6% in each year thereafter. In Liverpool there will be no growth this year, says CBRE. In 2014 rents will rise by 1.3% and 1.2% thereafter. John Ogden, pictured, managing director of CBRE North West, said: “This report demonstrates that Manchester is not only continuing to thrive during these challenging economic times but that it is actually outperforming all the other regions within the UK outside of London. "As the only region to record prime office rental growth in 2012 – and every year since the downturn – the projected increase in pre-lets from 2013 should provide the catalyst for Grade A rental levels to reach a headline of £32.75 by 2017.”

[jrb]

Boom!

Come on Allied, get No1 Spinningfields up.

Property Week.

One of Britain’s biggest banks has launched a Manchester-focused search for one or more new-build headquarters buildings in the north-west, PropertyWeek.com can reveal.



Barclays Bank is thought to be exploring options for a consolidation of its north-west operations into as much as 250,000 sq ft of space in Manchester.

A confidential Request For Information document, seen by PropertyWeek.com and drawn up by “lead adviser” Arup, describes the bank as “Client Green”.

It asks developers or “real estate consortia” to come up with proposals for two “state-of-the-art” office spaces in the north-west, and one in Maharashtra State, India. Developers are asked whether they would “entertain the transfer and takeover” of the bank’s existing lease liabilities.


Sources close to the bank said the search was preliminary and designed to inform high-level strategy, without any concrete commitments having been made. Another said that the bank would likely only pick one office in Manchester, rather than two.

The document states that each location should “contain office space sufficient to allow flexing between occupancy of 1,000 to 4,000 people”.

It says the new space should be provided within the next 24 months.

Barclays is thought to be in around 125,000 sq ft of office space across Manchester and Salford, and its lease liabilities are thought to be relatively limited. Sources said Barclays could be exploring relocations from other areas, including London.

For the new office, obvious candidates in Manchester include Ask Developments’ First Street, Argent and Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund’s One St Peter’s Square, Allied London’s Spinningfields and The Co-Operative Group’s NoMa scheme.

The document states: “In order to consider both Real Estate Consortium/Developer proposals and procurement options for leading, innovative and sustainable new office space, Arup […] are issuing Requests for Information ahead of detailed Request for Proposals, to assist in evaluating a shortlist of parties to take to the next stage.”

It also lists a series of Client Green Project Objectives, as follows:

“The exciting transformation of Client Green’s approach to accommodation of personnel around the world, driving higher productivity and driving significant bottom line benefits
“Cost certainty to be guaranteed over the term of the arrangement
“Up to 10 year commitment for the new space, with rights for expansion and contraction as required
“Clean and pre-defined exit options for Client Green
“New build to be completed within 24 months
“Through a structured engagement against an agreed time frame, Client Green wishes to be fully involved in the design and construction process of the new space, fit-out and furniture selection
“Final building fabric and services are to meet appropriate western standards for office space and ensure full operational availability 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days per annum”
All parties declined to comment.

[jrb]

On second thoughts I'd like it to go to NOMA if it happens?

[Chogmook]

Originally Posted by jrb

On second thoughts I'd like it to go to NOMA if it happens?

Hmm, will it join RBS in Spinningfields, The Co-Operative in Noma, or go alone on First Street?

Place your bets!

[jrb]

Don't think First Street is the right place for it TBH.

Spinningfields, Noma, or St Peter's Square. Plenty of office blocks proposed with planning permission in and around St Peter's Square.

[Caiman]

It says the new space should be provided within the next 24 months.

They need something sooner than No.1 could be thrown up then?

[TamaSuperstar]

Originally Posted by jrb

Don't tink First Street is the right place for it TBH.

Spinningfields, Noma, or St Peter's Square. Plenty of office blocks proposed with planning permission in and around St Peter's Square.

I would love to see them redevelop something in St Peters.

[VDB]

Originally Posted by jrb

Don't think First Street is the right place for it TBH.

Spinningfields, Noma, or St Peter's Square. Plenty of office blocks proposed with planning permission in and around St Peter's Square.

Is it Number 2 or Number 3 SPS (not the Odeon one, the other one) that actually already has funding and is awaiting a pre-let to begin? In that case, surely they could put an offer in there so that we'll see some sexy office shabingo going on round there!

On the other hand, the office block at i+Spinningfields was due to start around this time - fallen silent now though. Could that be what Barclays are looking for?

AND ANOTHER THING; construction at First St is due to start this month. Lets not forget that 24 months is a long, long time. It's 2 years from now. First St is due to complete in the Summer of 2014.

On that basis, I'm almost certain that Allied could begin and complete construction on Number 1 Spinningfields in that time frame

[VDB]

Also today;

Citypress signs up for Deansgate offices

Public relations agency Citypress has signed up for new offices in Manchester as it gears up for a fresh phase of expansion.

Citypress, whose clients include Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of New York Mellon and Brother, is taking more than 7,000 sq ft at 196 Deansgate, a six-storey, Grade II-listed building which has been refurbished.

The agency, which employs 50 staff and turns over more than £3m, will relocate to the block in March from Bank House, Faulkner Street.

In addition to Manchester, it has offices in Birmingham, London and Edinburgh.

Managing director Charles Tattersall said: “Manchester has been the home of the business for over 50 years and we're proud to be making a commitment to continue expanding here.”

[Lookin Up]

It also lists a series of Client Green Project Objectives, as follows:

“The exciting transformation of Client Green’s approach to accommodation of personnel around the world, driving higher productivity and driving significant bottom line benefits
“Cost certainty to be guaranteed over the term of the arrangement
QUOTE <<“Up to 10 year commitment for the new space, with rights for expansion and contraction as required
“Clean and pre-defined exit options for Client Green
“New build to be completed within 24 months
“Through a structured engagement against an agreed time frame, Client Green wishes to be fully involved in the design and construction process of the new space, fit-out and furniture selection
“Final building fabric and services are to meet appropriate western standards for office space and ensure full operational availability 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days per annum”>> QUOTE

For this reason alone, it has 1SP Sq written all over it.
People under-estimate how long it takes to get something out of the ground. The construction part is the relatively easy bit sometimes.

Mind you it depends when they start counting the 24 months. From now - only one contender. From signatures - there may be a limited few more.

I would eat my hat if Barclays go to First Street though.

[LNGCats]

Didn't Barclays have a load of space in Spinningfields ages ago? Despite never taking it up they had to pay a load of money to get out of the contract.

Banking shares are on the rise, the worst is over for the banks it seems, as they return to profit I expect to see much more of this type of news for Manchester.

P.S. Fast, reliable connections to the HQ in London is absolutely critical for these, well paid, jobs to continue to be in the region, hence why we need to ensure we don't have capacity problems on the WCML in the future.

[js1000]

Originally Posted by jrb

Don't think First Street is the right place for it TBH.

Spinningfields, Noma, or St Peter's Square. Plenty of office blocks proposed with planning permission in and around St Peter's Square.

I don't see the point in giving companies prime city centre space if they actually WANT to move here. Would make more sense if they've moved to areas of Spinningfields or NOMA where there is redevelopment potential. St Peters doesn't really need redeveloping - its effectively Manchester's historic district.

However one final point - we keep hearing about big companies want to open large offices here but we also hear about the lack of Grade A office space to entice those companies who think about moving.

[Cherguevara]

Ask seem to be reorienting First Street away from that kind of market anyway, which makes sense given it's location.

Flexibility from 1000-4000 seems a lot of variation. How many square footage would you need for 4000 jobs? Surely you couldn't fit that many people in 1 SPSQ?