Aviva has launched a search for a new North West base after announcing the closure of three Manchester offices this week.
The insurance giant has instructed Matthews & Goodman to secure 10,000 sq ft of interim space before selecting 100,000 sq ft for a regional hub in central Manchester.
Earlier this week, Aviva announced it was to close three offices at Stretford, Salford Quays and Albert Square by the end of 2016.
Though the bulk of the circa 780 staff working at the sites are expected to be made redundant, some will be retained and consolidated into the new regional hub.
A number of functions are also being moved out of Manchester – where Friends Life also had a pre-merger presence at Anchorage 1 on Salford Quays – to Norwich.
Earlier this year Aviva completed a £5.6bn takeover of Friends Life, the insurance industry’s biggest-ever merger, a move that prompted a £225m annual savings drive by Aviva.
With occupation expected from 2017, Aviva would be competing for space at the options shortlisted by law firm Freshfields for its own 100,000 sq ft requirement, being handled by Knight Frank.
These include One St Peter’s Square, Ask Developments’ 101 Embankment, English Cities Fund’s One New Bailey, Mosley Street Ventures’ Two St Peter’s Square, and Allied London’s Cotton Building.
The West Midlands Pension Fund and CBRE GI’s 260,000 sq ft Quay Street project would also be a contender for the requirement.
Carter Jonas has been instructed on a 160,000 sq ft office search for a government occupier in Manchester.
