(Updated on 2 June 2023 to add new government comment.)
A number of well-known occupiers are on the hunt for 100,000-square-foot-plus requirements in the centre of Manchester as they look to expand their regional footprints.
Market sources have said the Government Property Agency is in the market seeking more than 100,000 square feet in the centre of Manchester. According to local agents, the GPA, which delivers property and workplace solutions across government, has been in and out of the market for a while, looking at various properties as it tries to increase its regional presence.
Efforts to open large offices in Manchester and Birmingham, as well as other destinations, are part of an ongoing government directive to spread civil service roles across the regions, feeding into its flagship Levelling Up agenda.
The government body is also looking for a further 150,000-square-foot space in central Birmingham, with CoStar News reporting in April that the it had whittled its list down to a final two properties, Three Snowhill and 10 Brindleyplace. The GPA this week announced practical completion at its new Croydon hub at 2 Ruskin Square, which will accommodate 5,000 civil servants working for the Home Office.
A government spokesperson told CoStar News: "We are exploring a number of potential sites across the country to become Civil Service Hubs to support our programme to move 22,000 civil service roles out of London by 2030. No decision on these have been taken and we will announce any plans via the usual process."
Another company searching for significant office accommodation in Manchester is US banking heavyweight the Bank of New York Mellon. Its requirement is also understood to be larger than 100,000 square feet and was first reported by React News.
BNY already has a sizeable presence in Manchester, occupying 86,856 square feet at 1 Piccadilly Gardens in the city's Northern Quarter. It signed a 10-year lease at that property in December 2016. The firm also has space at 3 Hardman Street in Spinningfields, comprising 51,434 square feet. It signed a 15-year term in November 2008, meaning its lease expires at that property this October.
In March, the Greater Manchester US Mayoral delegation met with BNY to discuss its Manchester office as a strategic growth location, with the company expressing a desire to leverage the city-region’s strengths in technology, cyber, and commitment to social and environmental responsibility, and possibly expand its footprint.
Alejandro Perez, chief administrative officer at BNY Mellon, said in a statement during that visit: "Since we first opened our doors in Manchester, the site has provided access to the region’s most skilled, diverse talent, in turn providing career opportunities to employees on a local, regional and global scale. We believe our presence in the city will play an important part of BNY Mellon’s future growth strategy and success.”
US banking peer JP Morgan has a longstanding 100,000 square foot office requirement in the city. In what would be its first entrance into the Manchester market, the US multinational finanical services firm has been on the hunt for around a year, according to local agents.
They say that the space required by the company could be larger or smaller than 100,000 square feet, and it has looked in and out of town. It is understood that its focus now is on a central Manchester address.
With no office in Manchester, or the North West, those covering the market have said a lease agreement of this kind in central Manchester would represent a huge boost and vote of confidence. JP Morgan's UK headquarters is in London at 25 Bank Street, where it occupies the whole of the Hq2 building, comprising more than one million square feet.
According to CoStar director of market analytics for Manchester, Giles Tebbitts, firms with larger requirements in central Manchester have "plenty of choice" from recent completions, developments sites ready for prelets and buildings under construction. There is, for instance, almost 200,000 square feet at NOMA’s recently completed 4 Angel Square.
There is also a large chunk of space at the St Michael's scheme on Jackson's Row, being led by former professional footballer Gary Neville's Relentless Developments group. Market sources have said that both Pinsent Masons and Hill Dickinson are also considering the property. The next phase of Bruntwood's Circle Square scheme, the 225,000 square feet 3 Circle Square is expected to complete next year.
Last month, figures published by the Manchester Office Agents Forum suggested that a total of 211,397 square feet of offices were transacted in the centre of Manchester during the first quarter of 2023. But out of 59 deals in the centre, just five passed the 10,000-square-foot mark.
JP Morgan Chase declined to comment. The Bank of New York Mellon was approached for comment.