Hunter Real Estate Investment Managers (Hunter) has secured a 12,500 sq ft letting to US market leader, 3M, following the recent unveiling of its £10M investment into the 433,637 sq ft Exchange Quay office development in Salford Quays.
The 3M Company is an American multinational conglomerate corporation employing some 90,000 people worldwide and producing an extensive range of innovative products including Post-It notes and Scotch Office brand products.
3M has signed a 10 year lease on the 4th floor of Number 8 at Exchange Quay in a move which will see some 120 staff relocating from Great Jackson Street in Castlefield. Agents on Exchange Quay are Canning O’Neill and Savills, Cushman & Wakefield advised 3M.
Hunter has recently completed its £10M investment programme at Exchange Quay, upgrading the six office buildings to Grade A specification, extensively remodelling the whole public realm and introducing a broad range of occupier facilities including a Costa Coffee outlet and Londis Retail Shop which are managed by award-winning site services partner, Elior.
Several occupiers bought into Hunter’s vision and signed-up for new offices before the works had completed and last year, Exchange Quay’s agency team secured 10 deals totalling almost 60,000 sq ft to relocating and existing occupiers including; Beauty Bay, Bo-Concepts, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), Sage, GlaxoSmithkline Research & Development Ltd (GSK), Boxchange Associates, Wurth Electronics, North West Employers, international consultancy RPS and marketing agency K2L.
Jeremy Birkett-Jones, investment director at Hunter, said; “We have been delighted with the calibre of occupiers we have attracted and retained throughout the programme of works at Exchange Quay and to secure a significant letting from an organisation such as 3M as we launch the completed development is a real coup. We have always had confidence that the investment would attract market-leading companies who want high quality office space in a vibrant environment with all the key benefits of parking and connectivity and we look forward to concluding further deals now that we can showcase the development.”
James Dickinson, Director at Canning O’Neill, continues; “This deal is an excellent example of where Exchange Quay has stood out from its competitors and delivered all the criteria on an occupiers’ wish-list. It is an exciting time to be launching the new space to the regional office market, where supply of quality stock is low. Hunter has really achieved its goal of breathing new life into Exchange Quay and the investment has future-proofed the development and ensured the attraction and retention of high-profile tenants.”
Exchange Quay’s six office buildings range from 26,151 sq ft to 116,684 sq ft. The development, which also boasts its own dedicated Metrolink tram stop, is strategically located just off Trafford Road which links Salford Quays to both Manchester City Centre and the major motorway networks via the M602.