OCU more than doubles space at STOK
With the utility services company taking an additional 8,600 sq ft, the first two phases of the Tandem Investments-owned office block in Stockport are 97% let.
OCU Utility Services has grown from a 6,300 sq ft office at STOK – at the time the largest letting at the building – to a 14,900 sq ft one, signing a 10-year lease in the process.
Biffa Waste Services has also taken more space at the former Stockport town centre Marks & Spencer. Sedrow and Worldwide Hole’n One have also recently signed leases for less than 1,000 sq ft at STOK.
The recent influx of lettings means that only around 1,200 sq ft of plug-and-play workspace is vacant in the building.
Tandem has been transforming the 60,000 sq ft former store over the past few years into a plug-and-play flexible workspace – the first such project in the company’s 1m sq ft portfolio.
Work has finished on 40,000 sq ft of the building, representing its ground, first, and second floors.
Tandem is now focusing on STOK’s 19,700 sq ft lower ground floor, which the company thinks may be suitable for leisure, wellness, or commercial use.
Chloe Ellerby, project director at Tandem, described reaching 97% occupancy as “a significant achievement”.
“It is especially encouraging to see existing occupiers, such as OCU, continue to expand within the building, reflecting the strength of the occupier experience and the thriving community we have created,” she said.
“The continued growth of this community, combined with the momentum we are seeing in Stockport, has firmly established STOK as a destination for office space outside the city centre.”
Tandem director Richard Rees added: “This continued investment from occupiers is the strongest endorsement of what we have created at STOK.”
Edwards is the agent for STOK. The firm’s associate director Oliver Woodall shared why he thinks STOK has performed so well.
“From the outset, STOK was designed to offer something genuinely different to the local market, combining high quality workspace, strong sustainability credentials and an amenity rich environment,” Woodall said.
“The end product meets the evolving needs of modern occupiers and the leasing success demonstrates that businesses are increasingly prioritising quality, flexibility and employee experience when looking for their next office.”
Tandem acquired STOK from developer Glenbrook in 2023.
Well Done
By Ken B
It’s now a office building compared to a shopping centre..I wonder why people go to Trafford centre..
By Anonymous
@Anonymous June 03, 2026 at 5:26 pm
It’s one previously too large shop unit that has been converted into much needed grade A office space. It has the effect of bringing people into the high street. Its location in the middle of the shopping area – alongside many shops, cultural activities and other services – is one of the reasons why it is proving to be so successful.
It would take you less than 10 seconds to do an internet search and learn that footfall in Merseyway broke records in 2024 and then again in 2025 with an increase of 40%. It is, by all accounts and by any measure, succeeding where many other town centres are continuing to fail. It is a model for town centre regeneration and high street reinvention.
Your ill-informed comment says an awful lot more about you than it does about the subject matter of this article.
By Anonymous
@Anonymous June 03 at 5:26 pm: The Trafford Centre is part of the cause. Terrible Tory planning ideas from decades ago that helped wreck town centres. But, hey, some people made good money out of it and that’s what matters. Add in the impact of tax-avoiding internet enablers of consumerism and it’s just as well some local authorities are taking control of the market a bit and doing what they can to keep centres going. You have a good moan though, even if this is the reuse of dead retail space that was vacated because the models of centres and large retailers have changed and don’t reflect the word of 40 years ago.
By Northern Monkey