Digital firm on the move to new head office in Ancoats

A web development firm is moving all of its 150 staff to a refurbished building in the Ancoats area of Manchester.

PJD Group, the owners of Two Express on George Leigh Street, has agreed a pre-let with CTI Digital.

The web design and marketing specialist has committed to taking all of the space prior to the refurbishment programme.

The 10 year lease will see CTI’s 150 staff move over from Dale Street in the Northern Quarter once the refurbishment is completed in December.

Formerly known as Express Networks, the buildings which were rebranded as One and Two Express were acquired by the landlords in November 2017.

The refurbishment of Two Express will include replacement of the existing entrance with a new larger entrance facing onto George Leigh Street and refurbishment of the ground floor area and lift.

The first floor will be stripped out to provide high quality office space including air conditioning and pods to be used for private meetings in the largely open plan floor space.

Having successfully pre let Two Express, the landlords will also commence the refurbishment of One Express in September, creating a mixture of co-working space and offices incorporating a gym and coffee shop in the 27,000 sq ft building, which will be set over four floors.

Nick Rhind, chief executive at CTI Digital, said: “After growth and acquisitions at CTI taking us to 150 team across our locations, it became clear that we needed to invest in a new home to give us the space we needed to continue to work as a collaborative partner for our clients.

“After a year of searching for the right space we came across Two Express Building, Northern Quarter.

“What was attractive was the massive floor plate that still retained features to give us significant options to get an office that met our objectives.

“It was great to meet a landlord ready to take on our ambitions to create a truly collaborative space that we didn’t find elsewhere in the city for CTI.

“The space will comprise of a suite of planning rooms for digital transformational workshops and dedicated usability labs that will house state of the art eye tracking and motion detection for mobile and digital sites.

“The area will also include dedicated training facilities and a 24/7 monitoring suite which will be free for clients of CTI to use. We will also have dedicated work areas for clients to enable collaborative work to foster.

“This will be the first of its kind offering to ensure the best results for clients.”

Mark Davies, director of PJD Group, said: “There has been considerable change taking place in Ancoats in recent years and we believe it’s only just the beginning.
“A few independent operators took a risk several years ago and since then the area has been on an upward curve, with businesses flocking to the neighbourhood, all keen to be part of its evolution.

“We are confident that One and Two Express can become an integral part of the Ancoats community and are delighted that CTI Digital have taken all of the first floor at Two Express.

“We are looking forward to welcoming them to the building just before Christmas, by that time, we’ll be well underway with One Express, hoping to add some additional tenants to the mix in 2020.”

PJD Group are working with Stephenson-ISA Studio on the refurbishment and fit-out, Urbanise are the contractors and Daniel Harris & Co and OBI letting agents on the scheme. Myerson Solicitors acted on behalf of the landlord.