Bruntwood SciTech completes Manchester bank conversion 

The development consortium has wrapped up its first project since finalising a £500m equity raise. 

Bruntwood SciTech, the joint venture between developer Bruntwood, Legal & General, and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, has transformed a former bank at 38-42 Mosley Street in Manchester into Bond, a 28,000 sq ft innovation workspace. 

The JV has also secured a 9,000 sq ft pre-let to Australian technology data company Safety Culture. Overall, 63% of the building has already been snapped up, according to Bruntwood SciTech. 

The refurbished building provides office suites from 1,000 sq ft to 9,400 sq ft across four floors, while the basement is given over to wellness facilities including a gym. 

Bond’s former banking hall will become a restaurant, with an operator due to be named soon. 

In addition, a series of interventions to bring the building up to an EPC A have been carried out. These include secondary glazing, a heat recovery air source heat pump system, and LED pendant lighting.  

The Mosley Street building was one of 29 city centre assets Bruntwood transferred into the SciTech JV earlier this month as part of the equity raise, aimed at turbocharging innovation and growth across the UK’s regional cities.  

Bruntwood SciTech’s plan is to reposition its city centre offices as innovation workspaces aimed at supporting companies in the science and tech sectors. Other Manchester assets transferred include Pall Mall, Blackfriars House, and Bloc.  

Ciara Keeling, chief operating officer of Bruntwood SciTech, said: “The completion of Bond represents a significant milestone in this historic building’s story, and for Bruntwood SciTech in providing further forward-thinking workspaces for innovative businesses in the North West and beyond.  

“It’s vital to the health and prosperity of Manchester’s innovation ecosystem that we develop and provide workspaces that are embedded in a like-minded community, provide space for growth, and opportunities for collaboration and connection. This is what Bond, and our wider cluster of workspaces across the city, champion.” 

The project team responsible for restoring the building included architects AXI, Paul Butler Associates as planning and heritage consultant, and Hilson Moran as MEP and sustainability consultant.