Irwin Mitchell confirms Manchester move

The law firm is to relocate its regional office to One St Peter’s Square, as revealed in October by Place North West, in a deal that takes the landmark office building to fully occupied.

The firm will move from Bauhaus at Rossetti Place in June this year, having agreed a 15-year lease with a break clause at 10 for 33,300 sq ft of office space, accounting for one and a half floors at  the 13-storey building.

The other firm tipped at the time to move to Deka Immobilien’s building, CBRE, confirmed its deal for 11,300 sq ft in February. With coworking operator WeWork taking 40,000 sq ft in September last year, the 288,000 sq ft building is now full. Deka acquired One St Peter’s Square in 2016 for £164m.

Savills and GVA were joint agents on the building. while JLL worked for Irwin Mitchell on its search for a new base.

Roy Beckett, regional office managing partner, said the move would be “transformational” for the firm, adding:

“One St Peter’s Square is a superb building and this move represents a significant milestone and clearly demonstrates our commitment to our people, our clients and the city.

“We considered a number of properties across the city and decided that One St Peter’s Square’s location, particularly its proximity to the city’s main transport links, offered Irwin Mitchell with the best option.”

The new office will be home to over 200 members of staff from the firm’s business and personal legal services divisions. Irwin Mitchell Group’s debt recovery subsidiary, Ascent, will also be based there. Irwin Mitchell has enjoyed a period of growth, acquiring South East practice Thomas Eggar in 2015 to take it to 14 bases nationally.

Beckett added: “Moving to One St Peter’s Square is a real statement of our intent. Not only will it meet our aspirations for growth, it also reflects` our ambition to be recognised as the leading provider of both personal and business legal services within the region.”