Watch This Space expands office portfolio

Developer Watch This Space has acquired 62 Bridge Street, a 4,800 sq ft office building in Manchester city centre for £1m in an off-market deal.

The vendor was law firm Millbank Edge, which is based at the address and was represented by Matthews & Goodman. The building, on the edge of the Spinningfields estate, is currently 70% vacant and comes with an additional plot to the rear.

Michelle Rothwell, founder of Watch This Space, said: “We have identified and acquired a scheme which has the potential to become a dynamic working environment, given the right attention. This building has been unloved for some time and needs new life injecting into it. We want to turn workspace on its head and create new ways of working.”

Rothwell, formerly development manager at Capital & Centric and senior surveyor at CBRE, launched Watch This Space in February. It has since refurbished and fully let 31-33 Princess Street in Manchester, which includes a co-working space for property businesses that is now 95% occupied. It has also acquired a former hotel site in Staveley, Cumbria, which it plans to convert into offices for creative businesses called Billy’s Space.

Rothwell added: “2016 has been an unbelievable year for Watch This Space. I believe we’ve quickly established ourselves in the property market as a developer with a ‘can-do’ attitude and our deals are testament to that. We have big plans for 2017 as we make further acquisitions and deliver new and exciting places for people to work.”