Addleshaw Goddard has advised WeWork on a brace of deals which will see the global space, community, and services company lease 40,000 square feet of space in Manchester and a further 30,000 square feet in London. These new locations follow a trio of high profile deals earlier in the year by the firm on behalf of WeWork, including the world's biggest community environment of its kind.
Manchester’s award winning One St Peter’s Square will be WeWork's second location in the city. The building was acquired in 2016 by Deka Immobilien for the German open-ended real estate fund WestInvest InterSelect. The striking building is prominently situated in the Central Business District in the city centre and is surrounded by local services, restaurants, shops and tram station. Current tenants include KPMG, DLA Piper, Addleshaw Goddard and Mazars, along with Drake & Morgan and Fumo in the retail units.
WeWork’s One St Peter’s Square location is the 25th WeWork to be announced in the UK, where the company already has 16 open locations in London, which are home to nearly 20,000 members. With over 160 physical locations across 16 countries and 50 cities around the world, WeWork provides over 150,000 global members with the community and services to create their life’s work through both physical and digital offerings.
WeWork will also be taking 30,000 square feet in WestInvest’s 5 star Kings Place office building next to King’s Cross. WeWork’s space includes a terrace, which has amazing views across London. Members will also have access to the building’s two world-class concert halls, art galleries, cafe, waterside restaurant and award winning conference and events facilities. The offices are fully let and incorporate the headquarters of both the Guardian Media Group Plc and Network Rail.
A new wave of flexible and personalised office space is challenging the traditional UK office market according to Iain Hindhaugh, a real estate partner at Addleshaw Goddard who leads the firm's teams on behalf of WeWork:
"These two acquisitions see WeWork continue its expansion into the UK, to support a business model that is going from strength to strength. The Kings Place deal gives WeWork its first site in the Kings Cross area, which is an increasingly popular district for creative and tech start-ups and established corporates".
He added: "The deal also gives WeWork its second site in Manchester. Manchester has excellent infrastructure and a growing tech and start-up sector and is showing itself to be an increasingly appealing destination providing a fantastic work life balance. It is an added bonus that WeWork have joined us in One St. Peter's Square."
Mary Finnigan, European Director of Transactions for WeWork commented:
“Manchester was an obvious choice for our second UK city because of the fantastic tech network and business opportunities in the city. We’ve seen huge interest from members after the announcement of our first location. It’s also very important to us to build a community around our locations, so we’re thrilled to be signing our second location so soon after the first.
“Additionally, we’re excited to announce our first Kings Cross location as it’s somewhere our members have been keen for us to move into for some time. Beyond the best-in-class building, the area is a hub for entrepreneurs, start-ups and larger businesses, with fantastic transport connections. We’re looking forward to adding to our membership base in this vibrant, fantastic location.”
The St Peter Square location follow's WeWork's decision in June to take space in the new No.1 Spinningfields – WeWork’s first UK location outside London and the New York based company is scheduled to occupy the building being developed by Allied London, later this year.
Deals completed earlier in the year by Addleshaw Goddard for WeWork include a lease at Two Southbank Place, from British property developer, Almacanter, and the letting and refurbishment of 140,000 square feet at 125 Shaftsbury Avenue, also owned by Almacantar, and is situated in Soho, London.
