Buying building floorspace starting to grow in popularity

The real estate team at Pannone Corporate has advised Manchester recruiter We Are Adam on the purchase of its new office in a move to fulfil its expansion plans.

Capitalising on a record year in 2018, We Are Adam has been focused on investing in property to help lay the foundations for the continued growth of the business.

As a result, the business has tapped into the growing trend among fast-growing firms to buy floorspace in office buildings and is excited to announce the acquisition of the fifth floor of Margolis House in the city’s Northern Quarter.

The firm, which specialises in marketing, digital and HR recruitment, has bought the floor for a six-figure sum and plans to invest the same amount in a refit to create a space “where staff feel at home”.

We Are Adam chief executive, Richard Gahagan, said the firm plans to move from its existing offices at Manchester One to Margolis House in early May.

He said: “It’s been our vision for a number of years to invest in property and as a result of making sensible financial decisions and trading responsibly, we are delighted to be in a position to be able to do so.

“Foreign investment and high demand made buying our own office building tricky. It was suggested that an alternative strategy could be to, instead, buy a floor in a building.

“While this has become quite common in London, it is a new concept in Manchester.

“The space at Margolis House became available and it fit our brief perfectly, a fantastic city centre location with ample space for our growing team and opportunities for further expansion in the future.

He added: “Our growth to date has been from our rented office at Manchester One and we can’t thank the fantastic team at Bruntwood enough for their support over the last few years.

“However, it’s time for us to take the next step in our growth plans to create a space that is ours and that the whole team can play a part in designing, a key element of our collaborative culture.”

Richard said the move comes as the firm continues to grow following new client wins and geographical expansion: “Since we started the company 12 years ago we have grown year-on-year and expect to achieve a record 20% growth this year.

“Following several client wins, we are now a national recruiter and are looking to take on several new employees over the next few months to join us at our new home.”

Gareth Birch, director at Pannone Corporate which has been advising We Are Adam on its growth strategy for several years, said: “The purchase at Margolis House is an excellent deal for We Are Adam which will now have a fantastic asset which they can develop as their long term home and continue their impressive growth.

“Transactions such as this will continue to grow in popularity as fast-growing companies look to invest in Manchester as a base to fulfil their growth aspirations.”