Turnover up for Harris
Manchester-based commercial design and planning group The Harris Partnership has announced 20% year-on-year growth for 2014, with a turnover of £7m.
The group has £200m national construction projects on site and a similar value of work already in the system for 2015 from across the commercial sector including leisure, office, hotel, industrial, education and retail as well as mixed-use schemes.
The figures are for the year end July 2014.
Harris celebrated its 15th year in Manchester earlier this month. The firm is based in Carvers Warehouse on Dale Street.
Current schemes managed by the Manchester office include the refurbishment of Coliseum Way Retail Park in Cheshire Oaks for the Crown Estate, and Team Valley Retail Park and Cardinal Point Retail Park, Tamworth, for Royal London Asset Management.
Commercial projects include the Orion Business Park in North Shields and Concorde Business Park near Manchester Airport.
Harris Manchester also has four Aldi schemes in planning or on site in the region alongside store developments for Asda and Marks & Spencer.
David Evans, director and head of the Harris Manchester office, said: "The recession was tough on commercial development but we managed to maintain a strong performance throughout largely due to our ability to drive through complex schemes that generate value for investors.
"Now the market is coming back and expanding out. Hungry developers have soaked up a lot of available sites in the south and are looking north for opportunities they previously would not have considered, including complex sites without consent."
The group employs 110 staff across four regional head offices. There are currently 14 people based in the Manchester office.
