Booking.com signs up for £100m campus at St John’s

Tech company Booking.com will be one of the key anchor tenants for Allied London’s £1bn St John’s Quarter in Manchester after taking 222,000 sq ft at the Goods Yard on a 12-year lease.

The company will consolidate four offices into the new site, which is due to host 1,500 staff initially, with 200 new roles due to be added “as soon as possible”.

Manchester Goods Yard features three 10-storey offices; contractor Lendlease has already started enabling works and is due complete the build by 2020.

Along with fit-out of the offices and additional staff, Booking.com said the campus represented a £100m investment in the site over 10 years. The offices will be the e-commerce company’s global headquarters for its ground transport division.

The move will free up four of Booking.com’s current Manchester offices: Sunlight House, 201 Deansgate, 35 Fountain Street, and 42 Fountain Street.

Ian Brown, chief executive of Booking.com’s transport division, said: “We are committed to the city of Manchester and to its future as one of Europe’s largest and most important tech hubs. We plan to develop Manchester Goods Yard into one of the most exciting and dynamic workplaces in the UK.”

Michael Ingall, chief executive of Allied London, added: “We have formed a great working relationship with the senior management at Booking.com, which has enabled us to reinforce the company’s commitment to Manchester.

“Enterprise City at St John’s provides vital infrastructure to creative, digital and tech companies, across 10 buildings in total. We’re proud to be working with companies such as Booking.com at Enterprise City, ensuring the cluster will have an international role in the tech and media sectors.”

OBI Property advised Booking.com on the deal, while Allied London represented itself. Will Lewis, director of OBI, said: “We have been working with Booking.com for a number of years and this is certainly one of Manchester’s major success stories in recent times.

“The growth of the business has been remarkable and this transaction represents the largest office letting in the city for some 16 years. It proves Manchester, as a city, has the infrastructure and talent pool to support the growth of global enterprises on an international scale.”

The wider St John’s quarter features 18 new-builds stretching between Water Street, Liverpool Road, and Quay Street. These includes a 54-storey residential tower, a 30-storey co-living and commercial tower; Nickel & Dime, twin residential towers stretching to 36 storeys; and South Village, eight eight-storey mixed-use buildings.

Lendlease is delivering these buildings and is expected to complete construction in 2026.

The professional team on St John’s also includes architects Denton Corker Marshall and Chapman Taylor; structural engineer Curtins; M&E consultant Crooks Walker; and principle designer Orsa.