MoneySuperMarket has agreed to take about 130 desks at WeWork’s One St Peter’s Square office on a temporary basis as it plans to nearly triple its staff numbers in the city.
The price comparison site, which has a team of about 50 at its current Manchester office at 57 Spring Gardens, is searching for a circa 25,000 sq ft permanent office for a product engineering hub to develop its mobile platform.
It is understood the company expects to be at One St Peter’s Square for at least a year as it looks for permanent space.
A spokesman for the company said: “Spending money on this area is very important and we’ve chosen Manchester to do it.
What has Manchester got to offer prospective investors?
“The benefit of Manchester is it’s a large city with a talented tech workforce that does not have such a high cost of living as London. You can get the right sort of people and the right sort of talent in Manchester.”
However, new office availability is low in Manchester and will remain low for the rest of the year.
Major developments like Bruntwood and Select Property Group’s 230,000 sq ft Circle Square, Barings Real Estate Advisors’ 180,000 sq ft Landmark and Worthington Properties’ 116,000 sq ft 125 Deansgate are set to complete in 2019.
Occupiers with larger requirements to move into or expand in the city will either have to wait or look for flexible options if they want prime office space.
Meanwhile, serviced office providers have become active in the city in the last year with WeWork alone taking 100,000 sq ft across No 1 Spinningfields and One St Peter’s Square in 2017.
Other operators, such as Work Life, have also opened offices, while Allied London started its own flexible workspace brand, All Work & Social, at a number of its sites in the city.
Mark Bamber, partner in Knight Frank’s North West office agency and development team, said: “More and more occupiers are seeking a turnkey solution as offered by co-working operators.
This works particularly well for tech occupiers providing them with a level of flexibility to quickly grow, but more importantly provides a vibrant working environment enabling them to retain and recruit the very best staff.
“This method of working is becoming increasingly desirable for the more traditional corporate occupiers providing them with the ability to quickly acquire specific project space.”
GL Hearn is acting for MoneySuperMarket.
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