WeWork Hots Up In Manchester (But Cools In London)

WeWork has signed up for its third Manchester base, and their first entire building.

The flexible workspace giant is taking the entire 76K SF block at Dalton Place, John Dalton Street. The new office will open in spring 2019.

WeWork shows no sign of slowing its pace of growth in the city. Last year it was disclosed that it was working with Amazon on the 92K SF Hanover House in the Northern Quarter. It already has 60K SF at Allied London's No. 1 Spinninfield, signed for in July 2017, and in September 2017 it added another 40K SF at Deka Immobilien's One St Peter's Square.

“When we look for new locations, we’re always thinking about our members and providing locations that are well connected," WeWork Europe Head of Transactions Mary Finnigan said. "Dalton Place is located in between our two current locations, No. 1 Spinningfields and St. Peter’s Square — as well as local shops and amenities — so we know that our many members from all three buildings can collaborate, network and spend time in the surrounding area.”

“Forty-five percent of WeWork member companies say that WeWork helped accelerate their growth, and we know that this location will be incredibly beneficial for them, as it is in such a thriving part of the city.”

Its Manchester expansion comes as WeWork begins to slow its rate of growth in London.

New space taken by WeWork dropped sharply in 2018 — but it still signed leases totalling more than 650K SF.

WeWork leased 651K SF in London in 2018, compared to 1.2M SF in 2017, The Financial Times reported, using data from JLL.

Tesco Pension Fund refurbished Dalton Place after buying it from the Crown Estate in 2015. OBI project managed the project — designed by Cartwright Pickard — and advised on the disposal to WeWork. OBI and Savills advised on leasing.

“Coworking is a key emerging theme within the office market, and we are thrilled to be partnering on this building with WeWork, who are clearly at the forefront of this rapidly evolving sector," Tesco Pension Fund Manager David Russell-Smith said. "Manchester continues to be an important target market for us, and we are seeking further opportunities in the city."

The building was originally the Manchester office of accountants KPMG. OBI have been advising on the project since 2015. 

"We know the building inside out, having gone on to project manage the refurbishment, and this in-depth knowledge has been essential in us being able to provide WeWork with all the technical information it needed to make a quick and informed decision on acquiring the building," OBI Head of Transactions Richard Lace said.