Gary Neville record deals with Pinsent Masons and Hill Dickinson helped significantly boost Manchester's office market during the third quarter of 2023, new figures have revealed.
In July, BusinessLive reported that the two firms had agreed to take space at the £400m St Michael's development in the city centre. The pre-lets were agreed at £43 per sq ft, a new record highest price in Manchester.
The deals were announced as the scheme was launched to the market by Relentless Developments and stakeholders KKR, Salboy and Manchester City Council. Pinsent Masons and Hill Dickinson signed for 26,842 sq ft and 18,192 sq ft respectively at No.1 St Michael's.
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New figures have now revealed how much those deals did to boost Manchester's office market during the third quarter of 2023. They have been released by MOAF whose members include Avison Young, BE Group, CBRE, Colliers , Canning O’Neill, Cushman & Wakefield, Edwards & Co, Hallams Property Consultants, JLL, Knight Frank, LSH, Matthews & Goodman, OBI, Savills, TSG Property Consultants, and Sixteen.
According to MOAF, the city centre saw a substantial uptake in office space, reaching 351,063 sq ft for Q3, compared to 179,073 sq ft in the previous quarter. A total of 59 deals were completed with highlights including Arden University acquiring 42,944 sq ft at 2 Hardman Street, UA92 signed up for 36,751 sq ft at Bruntwood's Riverside, and Cubo leased 30,829 sq ft across two floors at The Lincoln.
Rosie Veitch from Sixteen Real Estate said: "Grade A space continues to let well, especially as supply of quality space is diminished in the city centre. The take-up we’ve seen over the last three months is hugely positive, and we expect this level of level of activity to continue as we look ahead to the final quarter. The region is poised for a strong finish to the year, and we are confident take up will again surpass one million sq ft for the year."
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In South Manchester the figures show that take-up has risen to 180,987 sq ft, compared to 146,806 sq ft in Q2 2023, and surpassing Q1 2023, which recorded a total of 135,056 sq ft.
Conor Walmsley from Colliers' national offices team, said: "This growth is driven by the ongoing appeal of town centre locations as well as office developments that have curated a vibrant workplace environment through the offer of quality on-site amenity. This goes a long way in helping occupiers to attract and retain talent, whilst remaining easily accessible and is obtainable at a cost-effective rate.
"Towers in Didsbury is an excellent example, as it has attracted a multitude of sizeable lettings in the last 12 months, including 14,948 sq ft to software company Conferma Pay, following considerable investment to provide quality office space and a defined focus on wellbeing and events on site."
Rosie Veitch added: "The pre lets achieved at St Michaels set a new precedent for Grade A office space in Manchester and serves as testament to the city’s resilient commercial landscape. Supply of Grade A space continues to be depleted and this makes for an interesting supply-demand dynamic as occupiers continue to favour high quality, sustainable office space in prime locations."