Grant Thornton moves in as Landmark is refinanced

The accountancy has completed its move to the office on Manchester’s Oxford Street, as the building’s owner Barings refinanced the building with LaSalle Investment Management with a £57.5m loan.

In January this year, it was revealed that GT had agreed terms on around 14,000 sq ft at the 180,000 sq ft Landmark, enabling the firm to accommodate its team on a single floor as it relocated from Hardman Square, Spinningfields.

GT has agreed a 15-year lease on a location that was decided on by a staff vote, from a shortlist of three.

The firm said that the new open-plan space is focused around its hybrid-working policy. It offers a range of diverse working areas including both standing and seated desks, collaboration spaces and private booths, equating to 240 bookable and flexible working spaces. The firm has 350 staff connected to the office.

ADT Workplace has delivered the project. Features include soundproofed booths, a full-length balcony, tech-enabled meeting rooms, a multi-faith room and a social space named in memory of a late Grant Thornton employee.

Carl Williams, practice leader for Grant Thornton in the North West said: “At Grant Thornton, we understand that while the world of work has changed over the last 18 months the office still has a fundamental role to play in attracting the best talent and nurturing the career development of our people.

“Having the team located on the same floor, something we did not have previously, was really important to us. It will help aid collaboration between our colleagues and clients and intermediaries.”

The 14-storey Landmark completed in 2020

Barings Real Estate has rejigged its arrangements to support its ongoing ownership of the development, on the former Odeon site.

LaSalle has provided a £57.5m three-year senior loan to support the ownership of the building, refinancing existing borrowings.

Since delivery in 2020, the building has also become home to corporate occupiers including JLL, Allianz and HSBC, which signed for 10,300 sq ft of flexible space managed by Hana.

Richard Craddock, managing director within LaSalle’s debt investments platform, said: “We remain strong supporters of the office sector, particularly for assets with best-in-class ESG credentials located in core markets such as Landmark.”

The loan was provided through LaSalle’s €1.0bn senior loan program which provides “balance sheet” senior secured real estate loans, without need of syndication or loan-on-loan financing.

Daniel Köhler, head of real estate treasury, Europe at Barings added: “We are pleased to have secured financing from LaSalle’s Debt Investments platform as we continue to realise our ambition for Landmark to set a new benchmark for best-in-class and sustainable office space in Manchester.”

The LaSalle Debt Investments platform has more than €4bn of lending capacity, the firm said.