Co-op Digital joins Federation
Co-op Digital has signed to lease two floors at Federation, Manchester, in a deal which is hoped will kick-start lettings from tech occupiers at the Co-operative Group and Hermes’ NOMA project.
Co-op Digital will pay close to the quoted rent of £16 per sq ft for 16,183 sq ft on a lease of over five years for floors five and six. As part of the agreement, Co-op will have the right to exercise an option to occupy the whole 71,300 sq ft former textile warehouse converted into an eight-storey office building. Co-op Digital will comprise staff from different existing departments which Co-op wants to bring together in a dedicated office.
Co-op Digital has signed to lease two floors at Federation, Manchester, in a deal which is hoped will kick-start lettings from tech occupiers at the Co-operative Group and Hermes’ NOMA project.
Co-op Digital will pay close to the quoted rent of £16 per sq ft for 16,183 sq ft on a lease of over five years for floors five and six. As part of the agreement, Co-op will have the right to exercise an option to occupy the whole 71,300 sq ft former textile warehouse converted into an eight-storey office building. Co-op Digital will comprise staff from different existing departments which Co-op wants to bring together in a dedicated office.
Federation, on the southern edge of the 4m sq ft development in Manchester city centre, had been earmarked by former chancellor George Osborne in the March 2015 Budget as the chosen location for a start-up incubator project, ‘Forward Plan’, led by Doug Ward’s SpacePortX. The deal involved a £4m government grant for the tech incubator.
However, at the start of this year, Manchester City Council, which was charged with distributing the grant, decided to overrule Osborne and launch a procurement process for the funding.
From January 2016: Osborne overruled on NOMA tech hub
NOMA and Forward Plan are among the contenders. The incubator could still go to Federation House if Co-op Digital decides not to exercise its expansion option. Alternatively, it could go to the adjoining Grade II listed building, Dantzic, which will offer 65,400 sq ft of offices and will be stripped back to provide loft-style workspace designed to appeal to creative companies.
Ben Tolhurst, asset manager at Hermes Investment Management, said he looked forward to further “digital pioneers” to help shape NOMA as a “leading UK innovation district”.
Colliers International and JLL are leasing agents for NOMA; Co-op Digital was unrepresented.
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