Manchester pulls in overseas investors

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 25-10-2011

Manchester appears to have caught the eye of overseas investors, as more than a third of investments made in the city’s office market over the past five years have come from abroad.

Savills said the city’s office market has blossomed thanks to demand from overseas occupiers - from 450,000 sq ft in 2006 to a peak of 1.3 million sq ft last year. Consequently, overseas investors have shaped Manchester’s office design and office refurbishment.

Peter Mallinder, head of Savills Northern region, said: "When we established our office 15 years ago, Manchester and its economy was going through a period of restoration following the Arndale bombing, which forced the city to reinvent itself supported by dynamic leadership, vision and a viable business strategy.

"This in turn helped to generate a new wave of sustainable development with the success of office schemes such as One Piccadilly and Spinningfields providing confidence and acting as a catalyst for further development, helping to put us on the radar of national and international investors."

The announcement coincided with an event held last week to celebrate the firm’s 15th anniversary in Manchester.

Copyright Press Association 2011