Property investment firm Castleforge has acquired a large corporate office building in the centre of Manchester.
The real estate firm announced the purchase of Linley House on Friday, with the 68,000sq ft Dickinson Street site estimated to hold a gross development value of over £30m.
Castleforge said the site is currently at 67% occupancy, and that the investment came after the city was identified as having "great potential to grow as a world-leading international business hub".
With the investment, London-based Castleforge said it plans to meet the increasing demand from companies in Manchester for alternatives to traditional fixed-term office space leases through its flexible workspace provider, Clockwise.
Brandon Hollihan, founding partner of Castleforge Partners, said: “With the likes of Adidas, Google and Amazon all having headquarters located in Manchester, it is clear that the city is now one of the fastest growing business hubs in the world for young professionals and burgeoning start-ups.
“In the coming years, new jobs will continue to be created, and people will once again work together in creative office teams. We are thrilled to be investing in the city at this time and look forward to welcoming local companies to Linley House as new members of our flexible workspace provider Clockwise.”
The purchase of Linley House announced this morning is part of a wider series of investments by Castleforge in office real estate in Southampton, Exeter and Leeds. The four sites together hold a gross development value of over £175m.
Factors contributing to Castleforge’s decision included Manchester’s internationally renowned universities, a growing population of young professionals and the "strong long-term prospects" for the local economy.
Castleforge also said the low flexible office penetration rate of 2.8% in Manchester, compared to over 5.0% in central London, was a "key reason" for investment.
Despite the challenging year faced by the city and the office industry, Castleforge said it was confident in both the office leasing market and the potential for flexible office spaces in Manchester to grow.
