CGI re-gears lease at Towers
GLOBAL outsourcing company CGI has renegotiated its lease at Manchester’s Towers, committing until the end of 2018.
The deal follows follows the recent acquisition of Towers by Lone Star, on behalf of Lone Star Real Estate Fund III, alongside asset manager Hudson Advisors UK.
Formerly known as Logica, CGI was part of the group acquired by Canadian IT and business process outsourcing company CGI Group for £1.7bn in 2012.
In 2014, CGI ranked number 974 on the Forbes Global 2000, which ranks the world’s largest public companies. It now has 400 offices in 40 countries and the combined turnover exceeds £6bn with about 71,000 staff worldwide.
CGI occupies 7,000sq ft in Kingston House on the Towers estate.
Towers has undergone a comprehensive refurbishment programme over the last three years, which concluded in December with the completion of the new piazza.
The estate consists of 11 office buildings, totalling 350,000 sq ft, within 20 acres of landscaped parkland, which is occupied by tenants such as John Lewis, British Airways, Oracle and Honeywell.
David Seddon of Hudson Advisors UK said: “We are delighted that CGI has extended its lease. Towers is home to a strong business community with a collective of high-profile tenants, it provides staff with an excellent environment and the strong community culture nurtures a work-life balance.”
John Ogden, of one of three appointed letting agents, CBRE said: “The Towers’ location and surrounding abundance of amenities are key to its tenant appeal and success to date.
“This is reinforced by the Metrolink extension to East Didsbury.
“Towers provides a natural extension to the city as opposed to the peripheral locations of standard business parks with the M60 and M56 less than two miles away and East Didsbury station, Parrs Wood leisure amenities and Didsbury Village only a short walk from the estate.”
The other two letting agents are Edwards & Co and Colliers and GVA is the managing agent for the estate.
