Property firm is on the move to new city centre offices

One of the region’s biggest property firms is on the move to a new headquarters in Manchester city centre.

Bruntwood said it is placing collaborative working at the heart of its move to new headquarters.

The family-owned property company own several high-profile buildings in the Manchester area, as well as in Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham.

The company owns one-third of the office space in Manchester city centre and also donate 10% of all annual profits to arts, cultural and community charities.

Founded in 1976 it has revenues of over £100m and employs 700 staff.

The move will see Bruntwood take the entire second floor of Union, bringing together a range of departments including sales, asset management, development, marketing and finance in one shared workspace.

The 10,000 sq ft open-plan space will enable Bruntwood to unite teams that are currently located across four floors of York House in the city centre.

Bruntwood’s new headquarters is intended to support the company’s continued expansion, across all the regions in which it operates, by fostering collaboration, communication and networking.

In line with the evolving demands of the market, Bruntwood’s space will enable it to test a new way of working and showcase the latest in workplace design and features for customers.

It will include a range of flexible, innovative workspaces designed to enable staff members to decide how and where they work.

The agile office scheme, developed by Bruntwood and London-based architectural practice Interior Architects, includes hot desking facilities, collaborative meeting areas and quiet spaces.

Employees will be encouraged to move freely around the office, interacting with different colleagues and working collaboratively across departments.

Employee well-being and work/life balance is another key driver behind the creation of Bruntwood’s new headquarters, which incorporates an event space where a range of health and wellbeing events will be hosted, along with biophilic horticultural displays designed to bring nature inside.

The second floor will also feature a communal digital art space that will tap into and support emerging artistic talent in Manchester by exhibiting photography, film, and animation.

Chief operating officer Richard Burgess said: “This move represents a new era for our Manchester-based team.

“We have always been strong advocates of flexible, agile workspaces and our new way of working at Union has been designed to support effortless collaboration – the kind that generates ideas and innovation.

“Union represents much more than just an office for us and we are very excited to move in.

“Our new home will demonstrate our culture and align our workspace with how our customers are telling us they want to work.”

Part of the Bruntwood portfolio, Union has undergone a £5m transformation to offer contemporary, high-quality​ workspace on Albert Square in the centre of Manchester.

“It benefits from excellent proximity to public transport hubs and Albert Square’s rich programme of social and cultural events.

The six-storey building incorporates five floors of agile workspace, developed to meet the demands of collaborative, creatively-minded businesses in the city.

The ground floor offers an open-plan arrival experience, along with on-site retail options and a range of shared amenities.