TriOffice reveals first phase of Manchester office refurb
Some 20,000 sq ft of refreshed office space, as well as rejuvenated communal and amenity areas, make up the first phase of the developer’s transformation of 55 Spring Gardens, now branded Blossom.
TriOffice and The Pears Group acquired the 55,000 sq ft Manchester building for around £15m in autumn 2024 as part of a strategy to buy offices with value-add potential in London and the big six regional cities.
Following extensive consultation with existing tenants, who occupy a combined 30,000 sq ft, and detailed design work, the refurbishment of 20,000 sq ft of tired office space into fully-fitted, serviced accommodation began last September.
Now, the first suites, ranging from 2,500 sq ft to 7,000 sq ft, are now being marketed by Knight Frank and OBI.
David Porter, head of office at Knight Frank, said the refreshed accommodation at Blossom will help to meet growing demand for serviced space in Manchester, where 75% off all enquires are for move-in ready space.
“Blossom provides market-leading fitted space, that matches perfectly the modern occupier demands for how they want their offices to be laid out and the range of high-quality amenities exclusively available to them within the building itself,” Porter said.
Those amenities include a gym and wellness suite in the basement, created by sacrificing five of 10 parking spaces.
The changing rooms have saunas and Dyson hairdryers in an effort to create a high-end feel and entice workers from their home offices back to the city. The reception has also been given a makeover – enlarged and updated to meet modern expectations.
The changes have gone down well with at least one existing tenant, Clarke Willmott signed a lease extension having seen what TriOffice had planned for the building.
The agents are quoting rents of £46.50/sq ft, which they say is in line with other premium fitted workspace offers in the city, including Bruntwood SciTech’s Kings House and Pall Mall, which have both completed recently.
- The office suites feature a range of spaces. Credit: via Knight Frank
- Rents of £46.50/sq ft are being quoted. Credit: via Knight Frank
There are plenty of office refurbishment projects in the works in Manchester, so what makes Blossom different?
“You can clearly see the attention to detail that’s gone in here,” said Beck.
“We’ve worked very closely together as a team [there have been] countless hours trawling through detail, picking every component of this building just to make sure it all works in perfect harmony.
“It really has been a labour of love getting to this point, but I’d like to think that what we’ve done is consider what is currently existent within the Manchester market and deliver something which is at the premium end of that scale.”
The office refurb was designed and delivered by OBI.
Dominic Horridge, founder from OBI, said: “Having been involved with Blossom since its acquisition, we were delighted to lead the design and project management to fully transform this building, setting a new benchmark within the city for fitted and furnished workspace, supported by high-quality new building amenities.
“The building’s transformation speaks for itself, and testament to the quality of the scheme is the high level of interest it is already attracting.”
Attention will now turn to future phases within Blossom – 5,600 sq ft of vacant space on the eighth and ninth floors is next in line for an overhaul – and adding to its portfolio.
At the moment, TriOffice’s only other asset is in London and Ben Beck, the firm’s managing partner, said the company is taking an “opportunity-led” and “very disciplined” approach to acquisitions, with location seen as the single most important factor when it comes to selecting assets.
“We’ve looked at assets in Newcastle, we’ve looked at assets in Cardiff. So it’s not exclusively the big six [Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Glasgow] but we think that that for now still creates the best opportunity,” he said.
“You can’t compromise on quality of location. I think location is the absolute driver. From both the occupational perspective and from an investment perspective, I don’t think location has ever been more important.”
- Credit: via Knight Frank
- Credit: via Knight Frank
TriOffice and its partnership with Pears Group was set up to capitalise on uncertainty around the office sector in the midst of economic upheaval.
Beck believes these conditions will endure for some time yet, presenting more opportunities to acquire offices and increase their value over a three- to five-year horizon.
“We think that there is still a very compelling opportunity within the regional office market,” he said.
“The occupational markets remain resilient, despite the fact that the capital markets are still volatile and that creates opportunity for us and our partners to buy well-located assets at sensible capital values and deliver good product that works with tenants.”
He added: “It feels that there isn’t ever really a period of pure stability. I’m looking forward to the next bull market, but for now I think we’ll continue to invest in this new paradigm.”
