WeWork has started the search for office space in Birmingham.
It is understood the flexible workspace giant has instructed JLL to find a circa 60,000 sq ft leasehold.
WeWork is looking to make its debut in Birmingham, where – unlike in London and Manchester – the trend for serviced offices has taken off slowly. The city has arguably been slower to drag itself out of the recession and there is a persistent lack of available space.
It is understood that WeWork now intends to follow the strategy it pursued in Manchester to build a sizeable presence Birmingham – a cluster strategy where it builds several locations in one city before launching in another.
In total, WeWork has 42 open and announced locations in the UK, including 40 in London and two in Manchester.
Earlier this month, EG reported that WeWork is in advanced discussions to lease Tesco Pension Fund’s 66,000 sq ft Dalton Place in Manchester – the first building it will fully occupy in the city.
Dalton Place will be WeWork’s third site in the city after Schroder Real Estate’s No 1 Spinningfields and Deka’s One St Peter’s Square, where it occupies a combined 100,000 sq ft.
WeWork has also launched freehold and leasehold office requirements in Glasgow and Edinburgh for its Scottish debut.
CBRE has been instructed to seek potential building acquisitions for its own real estate investment fund.
In a separate mandate, JLL is advising WeWork on a search for circa 40,000 sq ft leaseholds in each city.
WeWork and JLL declined to comment.
To send feedback, e-mail anna.ward@egi.co.uk or tweet @annaroxelana or @estatesgazette
