TLT’s Manchester team moves into award-winning sustainable building

One year on from celebrating its ten-year anniversary in Manchester, national law firm TLT has crossed another milestone having taken up residency in one of the most sought-after office developments in the North West – Eden, Salford.

James Chadwick, TLT

TLT’s head of location in Manchester, James Chadwick, discusses some of Eden’s standout features, talks through the thinking behind the move and the important role Eden will play in advancing TLT’s national strategy, its people-first culture and its net-zero ambitions. 

What sets Eden apart from other office developments in the Northwest? 

Visually, it’s very easy to see what makes Eden standout from the crowd. No doubt many readers will have seen the images of one of Eden’s most impressive features – its living façade – hailed as one of the biggest in Europe and the second largest in the world. The façade has been designed to remove air pollutants including carbon, reduce urban temperatures offering thermal benefits to occupiers, and delivering a 174% net gain in the biodiversity of the area, while at the same time providing high-quality green spaces.

Eden’s green façade exemplifies its pioneering approach to sustainability, which has earnt it some impressive accolades this year including being crowned Building of the Year at the Unlock Net Zero Awards in 2024 and becoming the first new building in the country to achieve a record-breaking NABERS sustainability rating. Described as one of the UK’s most sustainable office buildings, Eden is quickly becoming a ‘green print’ for industry to follow, aligning perfectly with our own ambitions to lead the way in terms of sustainability. 

Beyond sustainability, Eden forms a key part of ECF’s £1bn regeneration of Salford into a diverse mixed-use destination, providing a positive visual impact on the city’s skyline and reflecting efforts being made to innovate the area, making it a greener, healthier place to live and work. 

Inside the Eden building (pic from Interaction)

Why did TLT choose Eden for its new home in Manchester? 

We recognise that our people – our employees and our clients – are looking for more than a space where they go to work. People want their place of work to align with their own needs and values, which centre hugely on sustainability, mental health and wellbeing and communities. 

We want to ensure we’re providing an environment where people can do their best work. Eden’s vision to deliver one of the UK’s most sustainability buildings, allowing the people within to thrive, aligns with our people-first culture and our responsible business priorities. 

The move to Eden will also support our flexible working approach – TLT World – aimed at creating a flexible, progressive and inclusive work environment. As part of this approach, we made three commitments to our employees: to provide more choices so that employees can work at a place and time that suits them, their clients and their role; to support that choice by investing in new physical and digital environments so that employees can connect, collaborate and innovate effectively; and to support the transition by enabling a culture that is inclusive of different working styles. Designed from scratch with employee wellbeing and agile working in mind, Eden provides the perfect place to help us achieve these commitments with facilities and technology allowing employees to connect with colleagues and clients regionally, nationally, and internationally. 

Moving to Eden isn’t just about subscribing to an office building, it is about driving a lifestyle change that inspires and encourages our people and our clients to deliver positive economic, environmental, and social outcomes. 

Inside the Eden building (pic from Interaction)

The move to Eden is a core part of TLT’s national growth strategy, of which investment into the team in Manchester is a key component. We’ve seen record growth in the northwest in recent years both financially and in terms of our headcount, which has grown to over 200 colleagues. We have also worked on some of the most standout deals in the country and advised some of the most significant businesses in the region, placing us at the forefront of legal work in the North West. 

Eden will continue to support TLT on our growth journey, preparing our people and our clients for what comes next.