Ingall thinks inside the box

ALLIED London yesterday unveiled plans for the next major new building at Spinningfields – a utilitarian, seven-storey concrete box branded as i+.

The proposed £14m building, which will have around 160,000 sq ft of space, is a radical departure from the glass-and-steel behemoths that Allied London has built during its first 10 years on the site, but the company’s chief executive Mike Ingall explained that that its new vision was an attempt to reflect changing occupier needs.

“At Spinningfields we’ve always sought to be innovative,” he said. “Buildings of 500,000-600,000 sq ft back in 2003-04 were actually innovative, and I’m not sure that will happen again for the next 10 years.”

Mr Ingall told an audience at the MIPIM property fair that Manchester’s city centre had been governed by industrialists until the 1950s and by the financial sector up until 2010. However, he said the the city will be governed during the next few years by the growth of technology, media and telecoms companies.

He said the “challenge” facing Allied London and other developers is knowing what to build for them.

“I’m not sure what we want to develop, but what I do know is that we want to develop something and I can’t afford to wait five years.”

He said that i+ would be built on seven floorplates, as once a building goes above eight floors sprinkler systems need to be added that add a further 15% to costs.

Each floor will contain two banks of lifts and two staircases, but clients will be a shell with a height of 4m and then decide which services they wish to install, under raised floors or ceiling ducts. Cold water pipes will also be installed into ceilings, providing natural cooling for most of the year.

Mr Ingall said the concept was aimed at tech companies whose priorities were its people and the cost of the space as opposed to its location. TMT companies typically like efficient space near transport hubs that is accessible for 24 hours, he said.

“The big thing is the cost,” said Ingall. “A tenant can come to use and lease a floor in a shell, and that will cost him £14 per sq ft. He can then add on what services he wants. Even if he has the best Grade A finish, this building should be able to turn out at 70% of the current prime rental in the city.”

Mr Ingall added that the building had already been funded, and that it hoped to start on site by 2013 with a view to completing the project by 2014.