Barclays deal still in play as Mayfield offices progress

Developer U+I will submit planning applications for offices totalling nearly 300,000 sq ft at Manchester’s Mayfield over the next two months with a major deal with Barclays still on the table.

The Mayfield Partnership has revealed plans for two office buildings at the Baring Street Campus part of the site behind Piccadilly Station: the first totals 72,000 sq ft with a larger 220,000 sq ft office set to follow.

Plans were revealed for the 72,000 sq ft office in May this year as part of an opening planning application which will feature a 550-space multi-storey car park, half of a new “city park”, and road access arrangements. This application is due in September.

Earlier this month, the Mayfield Partnership also announced it would be bringing forward a 220,000 sq ft office at the Baring Street Campus in response to occupier demand; a planning application will follow in October.

It is understood the building is not being lined up for a single tenant, with the Partnership instead expecting around four or five tenants in the building. The smaller office is also more likely to be multi-let, and is set to be delivered speculatively, with positive discussions understood to be ongoing with funders.

Bennetts Associates is the architect for the 72,000 sq ft office while Morris + Company has designed the 12-storey, 220,000 sq ft office.

Mayfield has long been rumoured as the target for Barclays Bank’s 600,000 sq ft office requirement, with market rumours circulating since last year that the bank had been looking to agree a deal.

Talks are ongoing with the bank but it appears unlikely that either of the Baring Street campus offices are being targeted; instead, Place North West understands Barclays is eyeing a “campus style” development elsewhere in the Mayfield masterplan at the Mayfield Depot part of the site, where a number of large-scale office towers are planned.

CBRE is advising Barclays on its hunt for an office campus. The bank already has a significant base in central Manchester at its 80,000 sq ft facility in 4 Piccadilly Place. The bank also has a technology campus covering 64 acres in Radbroke, Knutsford, where it employs more than 3,500 people.

As well as Manchester and Cheshire, the bank also has a contact centre in Liverpool, housing around 1,000 staff. Barclays announced plans to create 300 jobs at the office at Wavertree Technology Park in 2016.

Barclays has not confirmed whether any of these facilities will be closing, or which staff would be relocating as part of the plans.

The Mayfield Partnership is made up of U+I, LCR, Manchester City Council, and Transport for Greater Manchester. Overall, the £1.1bn Mayfield masterplan could provide 1,500 homes, a 650-bedroom hotel, retail and leisure space, along with more than 800,000 sq ft of offices and a city park along the River Medlock.