The Legal Services Sector: Manchester takes the crown for UK legal service sector take-up
13% of office take-up in Manchester last year involved law firms, this was higher than any other UK city. The overwhelming majority of the deals were relocations to space in higher quality offices in amenity rich, well connected city centre locations.
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Additional themes were the consolidation of employees into one building/floor to drive collaboration and the occupation of space that can accommodate growing headcount, with many having outgrown their previous space.
In addition the moves provided the opportunity to introduce modern working practices and incorporate design that embodied their brand and culture.
"We expect that the legal services sector will continue to see Manchester as a key city to locate and grow. Reasons behind this include increased business activity and investment."
Mark Bamber, office agency partner at Knight Frank Manchester, summarised legal service sector activity by saying: "Manchester's law firms are at the forefront of making significant transformations to the way they operate in the face of more disruptive forces. This has resulted in many firms using real estate as a strategic tool to attract talent, drive cultural change and increase innovation.
"Manchester has the winning combination of unrivalled city centre amenities and the highest quality office stock, underpinned by the availability of highly skilled workforce, especially undergraduates from the various universities that makes it the perfect location of choice for firms wanting to grow their headquarters or expand their regional markets."
Stand out deals/moves included:
Browne Jacobson
In December the firm moved its Manchester team of 48 lawyers, HR professionals and support staff from its former base at 3 Piccadilly Place to No. 1 Spinningfields. It is now looking to at least double its headcount and expects to employ more than 100 staff within the next five years.
It signed a 10-year lease on 11,055 sq ft of office space. The Manchester office is pioneering a new agile working environment. Spinningfields boosts access to a range of boutique and luxury retail, bars, restaurants, a private members club, galleries, coffee shops, leisure and health and wellbeing facilities. Source: Knight Frank
JMW
In November JMW agreed terms on a lease of 14,086 sq ft at 3 Hardman Street, Spinningfields. JMW has being growing and recorded a 29% rise in annual revenue in the first half of 2017.
The new office space will accommodate its expanding teams in addition to its existing office space at 1 Byrom Place and will allow their fast growing real estate team to be located on one floorplate. Source: Knight Frank
Clyde & Co
In October Clyde & Co acquired a further 69,000 sq ft at Royal Exchange. David Wynn, managing partner of Clyde & Co’s Manchester office, said: "Our Manchester office is an increasingly important part of Clyde & Co's global network of offices worldwide.
"Expanding our presence and centralising our teams in this iconic central Manchester building will give us a modern office environment to operate in and support our continued growth in the city."
Clyde & Co moved 50 staff into the Royal Exchange in 2015, while keeping an office in Chancery Place but it has expanded rapidly, in part due to its merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert in 2013. The transaction was the largest law firm deal in the UK regions. Source: Knight Frank/Insider Media
Shoosmiths
In June Shoosmiths moved into its new headquarters at the XYZ building in Spinningfields. The firm occupies 32,000 sq ft of space that incorporates 12 different types of workspace along with break-out areas.
These include a garden, library, drafting areas, singular and group booths. To facilitate free movement around the various workspaces, Shoosmiths has invested in a purpose-designed IT system that means employees can move around the building while staying fully connected.
Teams will use Wi-Fi-only laptops and cloud phones, along with wireless casting that will enable them to project from laptops onto large screens throughout the office.
The move will encourage greater inclusivity, collaboration and get staff moving around the office rather than being sat at one desk all day. Source: Knight Frank/Manchester Evening News
"Manchester has the winning combination of unrivalled city centre amenities and the highest quality office stock, underpinned by the availability of highly skilled workforce, especially undergraduates from the various universities."
Looking forward
We expect that the legal services sector will continue to see Manchester as a key city to locate and grow. Reasons behind this include increased business activity and investment, talent (Manchester has three highly regarded universities and Manchester University is ranked the sixth best law school in the UK) and potentially lower operational costs.
In total there are 22 law firms currently occupying a total of 355,278 sq ft in Manchester with lease expiries or breaks in the next five years, depending on the quality of the assets they occupy they could be in the market for a new office.
They will be faced with increased competition and consequently diminishing choice, particularly for the best space in the city. As a result law firms need to get proactive and we expect pre-lets will dominate the sector.