Allied London secures pre-let at 1 Spinningfields

DEVELOPER Allied London has agreed a pre-let with a professional services firm for the final block planned for Spinningfields.

Chief executive Mike Ingall would not say which firm has signed a lease but accountancy groups PwC and EY have both been linked with the 340,000 sq ft 19-storey tower which will replace Quay House.

They are looking for new premises as leases come to an end at Barbirolli Square.  Sources indicate PwC is the more likely of the two firms to be making the short move across town.

Allied London was considering separate entries to cater for two big-hitting tenants but this has been scratched as it would have taken out too much leisure space from the side fronting Hardman Square.

Mr Ingall told TheBusinessDesk.com the pre-let will be announced next month and demolition will start in October ahead of a start on site in January.

He added: “It will be the best office building in the city… we’ve agreed terms with a tenant, one of the professional services firms.”

When plans for the block were submitted they were opposed by barristers based nearby and the management of the neighbouring Manchester Opera House.

The Ambassador Theatre Group, which runs the Opera House, was worried the building work will interupt matinee performances and make it harder to load up props and other equipment. Barristers based at the listed Cobden House on Quay Street argued that the block will block out light. They also argued the building will create a “physical and psychological barrier” along the route lawyers take between the courts on the other side of Spinningfields and the chambers around Byrom Street.