Five on the shortlist for law firm move

Eversheds Sutherland is understood to have narrowed its options down as it seeks to relocate its Manchester base from Great Bridgewater Street.

The firm’s requirement is for between 40,000 sq ft and 50,000 sq ft. Eversheds, long established as one of the city’s strongest practices, merged with US firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan at the start of 2017 to form a business that now ranks in the top 10 largest UK practices. The firm is said to be keen to agree terms on a relocation sooner rather than later.

The buildings in the running are Two New Bailey Square, on which construction is due to start onsite next month; Worthington Properties’ 125 Deansgate; the Landmark building at the former Odeon site on Oxford Street; Windmill Green close to Manchester Central; and Kier Property’s Eleven York Street.

Although none of these buildings is close to being completed – Eleven York Street and Windmill Green will probably be the first to be ready, the latter is due to be completed in July 2018 – each could comfortably accommodate Eversheds’ requirement: Two New Bailey will be the largest, at 188,500 sq ft, while 125 Deansgate will be 126,500 sq ft, and Landmark, close to the emerging professional services hotspot of St Peter’s Square, will contain 178,000 sq ft. Windmill Green and Eleven York Street will offer 78,000 sq ft and 85,000 sq ft respectively.

This will be a major move for the firm, which is synonymous with the late 1990s spread of development beyond the traditional core and along Lower Mosley Street, which also took in neighbouring Barbirolli Square and the Bridgewater Hall. Eversheds took a pre-let on the 68,000 sq ft building, designed by Aedas and delivered by Amec on the site of Havelock Mill and completed in 2000.

Eversheds is represented by OBI Property, which declined to comment.