Manchester office market boosted by influx of deals

The Manchester office market has continued to show its strength as the UK’s second city, with multiple large deals being completed in recent months.
Deka Immobilien purchased One St Peter’s Square from Argent and the Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund in mid-August, for an impressive £164 million. The scheme, which was completed in September 2014 and is made up of 288,000 sqft of grade-A office and retail space, is arranged over 14 floors. The deal marks yet another investment transaction in Manchester, increasing the total completed this year by 50%, to around the £300 million mark.

On the occupational side of the market, take up has been reduced, with 415,257 sqft being let in 2016 compared with 663,525 sqft during the same period last year. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer completed the pre-let of English Cities Fund’s 80,000 sqft One New Bailey scheme, whilst the investment and stockbroking firm AJ Bell has agreed to move its HQ to the ‘Canary Wharf of the North’, taking 94,000 sqft at Hunter Real Estate Investment Management’s Exchange Quay scheme.

Eugene O’Sullivan, Director at tenant acquisition specialist Morgan Pryce, said: “Manchester offers a fantastic option for companies scouting for ideal HQ locations: Manchester is a diverse and thriving market, and whilst it has undoubtedly been affected by Brexit, it is still performing best amongst the alternative regional markets. In terms of investment: if a fund, or indeed a private investor, is looking at options outside of London, Manchester should be the first port of call”.

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants