Kinrise fills up One Central Street
Sports fashion brand Castore is to relocate its headquarters from Liverpool to the Manchester office building, taking all 22,100 sq ft available across five floors.
The building forms part of Kinrise’s Albert Estate in Manchester city centre. Castore, which is to relocate from Liverpool over the course of this year, has signed a 13-year lease.
Castore was founded in 2015 by brothers Thomas and Philip Beahon to offer improved performance in men’s sportswear, and the brand now sells to more than 50 countries, chalking up collaborations with the likes of Andy Murray. Revenue is expected to reach £100m this year.
The firm will relocate all staff from current headquarters in Liverpool to Manchester this year and said it expects to create a further 300 jobs in the city in the next two years.
Phil Beahon, Castore co-founder, said: “We are delighted to be moving to Manchester and opening Castore House as our global HQ in the city. It is clear for everyone to see that Manchester is a city with an incredible buzz about it and the number of fast-growing, high tech businesses in the city were a real draw for us when choosing our long-term home for Castore.”
George Aberdeen, co-founder at Kinrise, said; “Like all properties in the Kinrise portfolio, One Central Street has been carefully redesigned to reveal the original character of the building; making it the perfect location in which a forward-thinking business like Castore can thrive.”
OBI advised on the transaction, and has also been appointed to design the new workspace and manage refurbishment.
Yikes. Another blow for Liverpool. I think Liverpool needs to be looking to Manchester for advice when it comes to successful businesses and redevelopment. It pains me to say it as a born scouser but Manchester is thriving. Well done to them.
By David
It’d be really good if someone could build some office space in Liverpool wouldn’t it, so we don’t have to watch this scenario played out over and again watching jobs needlessly sent down the M62.
By L17
Oh no!, more brain drain and from our own? Is there no end to the desertion of the city:(
By Liverpolitis
Such a shame to see a great new company that was established and built in Liverpool moving its HQ and creating hundreds of new jobs in Manchester. We see this happening time and again with various national and international companies closing their Liverpool bases but it’s particularly sad to see a Liverpool company doing this. Something has to be done in Liverpool to attract businesses and to help retain those that have established themselves here.
By Anonymous
It is becoming clear now that Manchester is becoming the North’s London. If you have a business up here you have to be in it. HS3 will turn the rest of the North into the equivalent of Surrey, Middlesex Hertfordshire and Essex. Wasn’t the Northern Powerhouse about avoiding a mega city but all the cities thriving?
By Elephant
I believe this is the fourth time they have moved their HQ in a relatively short period of time, where to next?
By Just saying
These are just blips. Liverpool was the main city for 250 years. Manchester has been ascendant for less than 40 years, since Liverpool started on its massive adjustments. Manchester is not ahead on all fronts and Liverpool is the second city culturally, and is the most exciting city north of London. HS3 will give us equal access in all directions. And it’s about more than who has the fastest route to London. Crewe would beat us all if that’s all it takes.
By Roscoe
Liverpool needs a long term and sustainable strategy to attract and keep high value jobs. I won’t take the the usual and nonsensical view likes it’s somehow another city’s fault for having the correct strategy themselves. These things don’t happen over night and it may take many years or even decades to correct if it can can be at all .
By Simon
Well done to Manchester. I don’t know whether Castore has been incentivised to move by cheap rent, but it speaks volumes for the current drift in Liverpool. Where are the public agencies speaking to companies of this type about what their business growth needs are and how they can be met in Liverpool? The LEP anybody? The old Vision gang absorbed back into the Council some time back? Is there anybody out there?
By Mark Gilbertson
This may be ‘just a few hundred jobs’ but the concerning thing for those outside the Mancunian conurbation is the apparent and very definite step change there has been in Manchester’s performance over the past 5 -10 years in terms of Infrastructure, investment, Jobs and even the arts and culture., eg.the The Factory and the St Johns district. By this I mean that’s it’s not just increasing, but the rate is actually accelerating too. I sit on the fence on this one as someone who has a vested interest in a small part of this but also someone who often complains that the real domination from London cannot be a good thing for the rest of the country.
By JohnP