Royal London to knock down Salford office that has never had a tenant
Broadway House off Columbus Way was constructed by Orbit in 2007 but has failed to capture the imagination of any occupiers in the last 19 years. Now, the investor wants to demolish it and build two industrial units.
Royal London UK Real Estate Fund, managed by Royal London Asset Management, wants to make better use of the site by building a pair of sheds totalling 42,000 sq ft.
Located within Metroplex Business Park, the site was originally earmarked for two office buildings by Orbit. However, only Broadway House was constructed. Despite efforts to market the asset to occupiers, nobody has ever opened a laptop in anger within the 21,000 sq ft building in the nearly two decades since it was constructed.
A planning statement prepared by Turley states that the “lack of demand can reasonably be attributed to structural changes in workplace patterns following the COVID-19 pandemic” but does not account for the 13 years prior to the pandemic that Broadway House lay vacant.
RLAM’s sheds plan is not the first attempt to bring the site into use. In 2022, digital infrastructure provider Atlas Edge was granted planning permission to build two 37,000 sq ft data centres on the 2.4-acre plot. However, the scheme never progressed.
The Harris Partnership is leading on design. To learn more, search for reference number PA/2026/0599 on Salford City Council’s planning portal.
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That’s a fairly crap location for an office compared to the rest of the Quays.
By CG
How were they not used for 19 years?! Surely they could have reduced the rent and let artists or charities use them, rather than sitting empty. Seems a little selfish.
By Anonymous
surprised it wasn’t turned into apartments or other resi use already?
By Anonymous
Orbit haven’t owned it for many years
By Anonymous