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It may not be the largest deal Manchester will see this year, but it could be among the most sigificant, as tenants begin to scramble for remaining Grade A floorspace.
Moneysupermarket Group has signed for 23K SF at No 1 Spinningfields, as part of the continued growth of its technology operations in the North West.
The online finance group will occupy the 15th and 16th floors: the deal means No 1 Spinningfields is now 98% let.
The acquisition of the building by clients of Schroders Real Estate in 2017 from Allied London was one of the largest single-asset trades recorded in the region, at £200M.
Last year set a record for office space take-up in Manchester at 1.75M SF in the city cenrtre across 314 transactions, driven largely by the tech sector.
Manchester landlords complain that they can't provide new floorspace quickly enough to meet consistent demand from occupiers new to the city, and existing occupiers expanding. Multi-let occupancy rates like that recorded at No 1 Spinningfields are no longer unusual. Tenants are increasingly appreciating the need to act quickly if they are to secure floorspace.
“We are witnessing a frenetic element to the Manchester office market at present and have even seen gazumping of space occurring as occupiers rush to secure Grade A space," Colliers International Director Dominic Pozzoni said. "2018 was a record year for take-up, well exceeding the 10-year average and as a result supply is limited for occupiers seeking to take space in the next 12-18 months."
Moneysupermarket's deal falls into the sweet spot of 20K to 30K SF which has dominated the first quarter market. The General Medical Council took 22K SF at 3 Hardman Square, HPE leased 20K SF at No.1 Circle Square, and Aldermore Bank expanded into an additional 20K SF at 40 Spring Gardens.
With less than 300K SF of Grade A space due for completion this year and with annual Grade A space take-up averaging 400K SF it is possible that there might be no Grade A space available by the end of 2019.
OBI Property and Cushman & Wakefield are joint agents on No 1 Spinningfields. Norton Rose advised Schroder Real Estate on the deal.
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