These are 25 of the biggest commercial property deals to have hit the North West in recent weeks
Industry giants including Bruntwood group, Hotter Shoes and Lancsec have signed leases and made key acquisitions as the market continues its recovery from the pandemic.
The deals since our last round up include sites located all across the North West including Manchester, Liverpool and further afield.
READ MORE: US investment giant bids to muscle in on £1.1bn takeover of Blue Prism
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Here, BusinessLive rounds up 25 of those deals we feel you shouldn't have missed:
Macdonald Manchester Hotel
A landmark hotel in Manchester city centre has been acquired by a private equity firm which invested in Typhoo Tea this summer.
Funds controlled by Zetland Capital Partners have agreed to acquire the 338-bedroom Macdonald Manchester Hotel from Macdonald Hotels & Resorts.
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The London-based buyer has also acquired the 156-bedroom Macdonald Holyrood Hotel in Edinburgh from the same seller.
The firm said the deal, which has been agreed for an undisclosed sum, is "one of the largest hotels transactions completed outside of London in 2021".
Cloud Imperium Games
An international independent videogame developer has announced plans to open a new Manchester base in 2022 and create more than 1,000 jobs in the next five years.
Cloud Imperium Games will open a new development studio in Enterprise City in May 2022, creating more than 700 jobs in the area by 2023.
Founded in 2012 by Chris Roberts, the company's titles include Star Citizen whose voice cast includes Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong and Gillian Anderson.
The company currently employs more than 700 people worldwide, with 400 employees based at its current 海角视频 studio headquartered in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
Department for Work and Pensions
A new £100m office development in Blackpool town centre is to be the home of more than 3,000 civil servants, it has been confirmed.
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has agreed with Blackpool Council and partner Muse Developments to create a new regional hub in Talbot Gateway.
It will result in DWP staff from existing sites at Warbreck House and Ryscar House moving into the Blackpool Hub and Centre for Health and Disability Assessment (CHDA) at Talbot Gateway when the new offices are completed in the autumn of 2024.
The DWP has signed a 25-year lease to occupy the offices.
MediaCity
A majority stake in MediaCity has been bought by one of the 海角视频's largest commercial property development and investment company for more than £425m.
Landsec has acquired a majority stake in the 37-acre media, digital and tech hub in Salford which was previously heled by a 50:50 JV between Legal & General and Peel L&P.
The company will partner with Peel L&P who will retain a 25% stake and continue to serve as asset and development manager.
MediaCity has a gross asset value of £567.5m while Landsec will pay a net purchase price of £425.6m for the 75% interest.
Greencoat 海角视频 Wind
A £250m deal has been announced for a major 海角视频 wind farms investor to acquire a 25% stake in an offshore site in Liverpool Bay.
Greencoat 海角视频 Wind is leading the investment into Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm alongside a number of pension funds. The stake is being acquired from Danish investor AIP.
The 258 MW offshore wind farm has 32 turbines and is located off the coast of Liverpool.
The acquisition is scheduled to complete on November 30, 2021.
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Bruntwood Group
A landmark office building in Manchester city centre has been acquired by commercial property giant Bruntwood Group in a multi-million pound deal.
The grade II-listed Pall Mall Court has been bought from the Ardstone Regional Office Fund, a joint venture fund between Ardstone Capital and CBRE IM.
Constructed in the 1960s, the King Street building was refurbished in 2002 and contains retail space on the ground floor with offices above. It contains 83,808 sq ft of office space across three blocks.
In a statement, Bruntwood said the purchase has been "driven by the resurgence of demand for inspirational, flexible office space" in the city centre.
Fortwell Capital
Fortwell Capital, a lender to developers and investors within the 海角视频 and Ireland, has provided a new £10.1mdevelopment loan to purpose-built care home developer and operator, Evermore Care.
The loan will be used to fund the construction of Astley View, a 90-bed care home in Chorley, Lancashire.
The new facility will provide a retail street and bring the outside in with a galleried café that opens onto a corridor of trees through to landscaped gardens.
Bold
Bold is set to open its first Manchester workspace community in January, in the Bauhaus building in Manchester’s Spinningfields area.
Totalling 13,731 sq ft, the new space will provide entrepreneurs, creatives and SMEs an environment to flourish with flexible memberships, private spaces, communal areas and events.
Founded by American entrepreneur Caleb Parker, and ex-TransferGo marketing director, Magnus Olby, Bold operates a management agreement commercial model that enables asset owners to benefit directly from the growth in demand for Space-as-a-Service.
All About Food
Pictet and XLB Property have agreed a new letting to All About Food at Fourways on Hilton Street within Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
CBRE’s Office Agency team in Manchester advised on the deal alongside joint agents Savills.
Fourways is a grade II-listed former packing warehouse comprising 59,000 sq ft of office accommodation which has recently undergone a full refurbishment including exposing original features and celebrating its industrial past.
Fourways also benefits from a full height atrium reception and provides its occupiers with a host of wellbeing initiatives including a dedicated shower and cycle hub and customer app which gives access to an array of benefits.
DTZ Investors
DTZ Investors has announced a raft of new deals in King Street, Manchester
Cinnabon has opened its first Manchester store with EG Group, taking 506 sq ft at 103 Deansgate.
Boutique nail salon Nail’d It will also open its doors on King Street, taking 1,100 sq ft.
High-end male salon King Street Grooming has also opened its first store on the street, after agreeing a deal to occupy 2,000 sq ft across three floors at 44 King Street.
George Thornton Art will also join the mix at King Street, taking 750 sq ft of space at 4 King Street.
Crown Oil
Bury fuel supplier Crown Oil has invested in a new site as it expands to cope with rocketing customer demand for green fuels.
The Heap Bridge business, part of the £420m-turnover Crown Oil family of companies, has acquired land in Pilsworth, Bury, to enable it to continue the growth it has experienced during the last 12 months.
The 8.88-acre site will provide the family business with additional space to cater for its expanding sustainable fuels operation.
Birchwood Park
North West out-of-town business destination Birchwood Park has welcomed nine businesses to the park across a mixture of office suites and warehouse facilities.
The most recent addition to Birchwood Park is equity release experts Equity Release Supermarket.
The business has taken up 4,607 sq ft of office space at Birchwood Park’s Bridgewater Place.
In total, eight new companies have taken small suites facilities at Birchwood Park, totalling 6,460 sq ft of office space this quarter.
Aaron and Partners
Law firm Aaron and Partners has expanded to offer full commercial and private client services in the Wirral, with the opening of a new base at the recently-refurbished Egerton House in Birkenhead.
The firm is now welcoming current and new clients to face-to-face appointments at the premises, which will act as a base for its Wirral-based solicitors as well as an extension of its Chester headquarters.
The move also builds on a long-running association with the Wirral region, following on from a series of well attended legal workshops delivered by the firm’s solicitors in recent years – both in person and online throughout the pandemic.
The Clog & Billycock
Forbes Solicitors has advised on the purchase of a Lancashire restaurant property as part of a local entrepreneur’s plans for investing £10m across the county.
The law firm’s commercial property team supported the purchase of the land that’s home to The Clog & Billycock in Pleasington, which was bought for an undisclosed cash sum by the Zedex Group.
Headed up by self-made property investor Ziafat Ali, the Zedex Group owns a portfolio of commercial and residential properties across Lancashire and has earmarked £10m of funds for further investment over the next 18 months.
EndoCare Diagnostics
A centre for the speedy diagnosis of conditions needing investigation by endoscopy has opened in Manchester.
EndoCare Diagnostics has taken 8000 sq ft on Orbit Development’s Parkway Business Centre, off Princess Parkway.
The community development is the brainchild of chief operating officer Jason Hughes and consultant gastroenterologist, Dr Waqar Ahmed.
Early priorities include helping local NHS Trusts deal with excessive waiting times post-pandemic and helping to re-establish the national diagnostic six week waiting time standard.
Haico
Toy development company Haico has acquired a new headquarters in Manchester as part of its strategic growth strategy, following a six-figure funding deal from HSBC 海角视频.
The company designs, manufactures and imports children’s toys and crafts from China and supplies them to major retail clients throughout the 海角视频 and Europe.
Haico has used the funding to expand its business, which includes relocating to a new office and showroom complex in MediaCity.
Maguire Family Law
Maguire Family Law is set to relocate its head office from long-time home Black Box, Wilmslow, to a new property in Altrincham.
The new office is situated on Stamford New Road and was acquired for £505,000.
Founder James Maguire said: "We’ve wanted to invest in a property for a long time, having rented office space for the past 12 years, and 58 Stamford New Road was a clear standout.
"Altrincham is such a vibrant town and an area we are well acquainted with. Therefore, we felt it would be a great base for our business headquarters, particularly as we look to continue to grow our team and expand our client base in the area."
Prime Property Consultancy
Prime Property Consultancy has completed a pair of lettings at M60 Office Park to the car finance industry.
Kandoo Car Credit and Select Car Leasing have both taken five-year leases on suites at Beech Court, resulting in the 15,000 sq ft multi tenanted building now being fully let.
The new tenants join existing occupiers BT Local Business, Kingsbury Holdings, 4 Medical Clinical Solutions and Amalgamated Ltd on the Park, which is located just off Junction 16 of the M60.
Hotter Shoes
Hotter Shoes has opened its first pop-up store in Manchester's Trafford Centre.
The business is continuing to roll out its 'Retail 2.0 strategy' in response to changing High Street and consumer needs.
Chief commercial officer Victoria Betts said: "Around 40% of in-store orders are now ordered directly from our warehouse and we expect this to rise with the continuation of our Retail 2.0 strategy."
Brabners
Independent law firm Brabners is investing in a new Lancashire office as it targets further growth in the region.
The firm is to relocate its Preston office, one of its three bases in the North West, to Bamber Bridge.
The new grade A office space comprises more than 6,500 sq ft across two floors in a self-contained exclusive office at Sceptre Court and features collaborative working spaces designed to support the firm’s new hybrid working model.
Mojo Mortgages
Mojo Mortgages has announced it will be relocating its head office to Manchester city centre as the business enters its next phase of growth.
The online mortgage broker, based in Macclesfield prior to the pandemic, has been operating as a remote-first business over the past 18 months with new members of staff joining the team from across the 海角视频.
The new office will provide a hub for staff to collaborate and provide a space for those who wish to work from an office when desired.
Based out of Manchester’s WeWork at Dalton Place, the permanent office will "play a critical role" in the company’s growth plans in the North West following the announcement it is to be acquired by RVU, owners of Uswitch, Confused.com and money.co.uk.
Flintrock
A distribution warehouse in Knowsley has been sold for £29.5m.
Venus 217 has been sold by B8 Real Estate on behalf of developer Flintrock. The purchaser was RTP Global RE Investment LP, advised by Gerald Eve.
The 217,765 sq ft unit was recently let by B8 Real Estate to a multinational e-commerce company on a 10-year lease.