New tenants bolster creative community at city centre site following restoration
Two new tenants have signed up for a total of 5,637 sq ft at Grade II-listed 86 Princess Street, in Manchester city centre.
Independent brand communications and creative agency, Dinosaur, and impact software developer, Culture Shift, have taken space, with Dinosaur agreeing a five-year lease to occupy 2,680 sq ft on the third floor, while Culture Shift has agreed to take 2,777 sq ft on the fourth floor.
Mark Beaumont, chief creative officer at Dinosaur, said: “We’re thrilled to be joining the bustling creative community at 86 Princess Street. The vibrant downtown location is perfect for our team and clients and the building refurb celebrates values we share around collaborative working and responsive design.”
Manchester-based tech-for-good firm, Culture Shift, recently secured £1.5m investment in a funding round led by Praetura Ventures, and Blackfinch Ventures. Culture Shift’s online reporting platform gives organisations the insight they need to identify and respond to bullying, harassment and assault.
Already working with more than 80 of the UK’s biggest universities, as well as a number of corporate businesses and public sector organisations, Culture Shift’s mission is to eradicate discrimination and harassment of any kind in educational institutions and workplaces.
Gemma McCall, CEO and co-founder of Culture Shift, said: “As a team, we’re really excited to be moving in to 86 Princess Street. It’s an exhilarating time for our business, which is growing from strength to strength, and has recently reached £1m ARR, so moving into our new office space feels like another big milestone.
“86 Princess Street provides a comprehensively refurbished character space with original timber flooring, exposed ceilings and brickwork, as well as exceptional floor-to-ceiling height.”
Matt Pickersgill, associate director at Avison Young, said: “We are very excited that both Dinosaur and Culture Shift have chosen to join the creative community at 86 Princess Street, and both make excellent additions to the building and the community that’s growing there. It was clear from the outset both occupiers appreciated all the efforts put in to restoring this stunning building and what it represents.
“It has been remarkable to see the transformation at 86 Princess Street over the last couple of years and it’s no surprise that we continue to see strong levels of interest across both part and full floors. It’s great to see the creative community of like-minded businesses really starting to take shape in what is a stunningly restored building.”
Existing occupiers include Big Brand Ideas, Open-Optimised Environments and SeeSaw.
The available space provides suites from 2,350 sq ft to full floors of 5,200 sq ft.
Joe Averill, at workspace advice specialist Level, represented Culture Shift. Avison Young and Josh Levy Consultancy are the joint leasing agents on 86 Princess Street.
