Dragonfly lands milestone contract with Bruntwood

Bruntwood has selected Dragonfly Contracts as main contractor on the £8m refurbishment of the 52,000 sq ft Bank House, to be renamed Neo, in Manchester.

The 15-storey building in Charlotte Street, between Piccadilly and Chinatown, will be comprehensively made over throughout. The first three floors of the finished development will contain co-working space set among a digital art exhibition. Elsewhere in the building there will be a communal lounge, roof terrace, kitchen and studio offices.

Dragonfly’s recent projects include the Pullman Hotel in Liverpool and Manchester’s Central Library and Town Hall redevelopment. The Middleton-based company, which was launched in 2005, has worked with Bruntwood previously but this will be the biggest contract to date with the client.

Joe McKenna, director of Dragonfly, said: “We have been working with Bruntwood for six years and striving hard towards a project of this size. Being awarded the Neo contract truly is a game-changer for Dragonfly as it is recognition of the investment we’ve made and what we have been trying to achieve as a business.”

Simon Daffy, fellow director of Dragonfly, said: “To be trusted and associated with such a respected developer and an iconic building in Manchester makes this a very proud moment for us all.”

Lee Treanor, head of development in central Manchester for Bruntwood, said: “Our vision for Neo was simple, we wanted to create a place that met the ever-changing needs of the modern workforce and Bank House offered the perfect foundation for this. People are searching for more than just an office, with the demand for collaborative, community-minded workspace rising, so we were delighted to find that Dragonfly had the passion and drive to bring our vision to life.”

Neo is due to be completed in January 2017.