Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has announced that the company will move into office space at Manchester’s new city neighbourhood, Circle Square, in 2020.
The company, which currently operates across six locations in the UK – in Bracknell, London, Bristol, Belfast, Warrington, and Erskine – will have capacity to locate almost 300 of its UK employees at Circle Square.
HPE aims to complete the move into No. 1 Circle Square – occupying 20,000 square feet on the seventh floor – in summer 2020. As part of the deal HPE will also have access to Circle Square’s new city park and a range of new retailers.
This new office will be custom fit to HPE’s specifications, including the use of networking technology from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.
HPE will take up a 10-year lease for the managed office space, which includes over 200 permanent seats, and capacity for almost 100 more in secondary seating.
“As we continue to grow our business in the UK, we’re really pleased to build out an innovative work space for our people in the heart of Manchester. The intent of the Circle Square development is to build a collaborative community of leaders in technology, business, arts and science, which is compelling,” said Marc Waters, Managing Director, UK & Ireland, HPE. “Hewlett Packard Enterprise is excited to be a part of such a progressive project that is well aligned to our core values. Our connectivity and security solutions are embedded in the development which will itself be a showcase for edge technology in the workplace. We can’t wait to move in.”
Circle Square is a joint venture between Bruntwood SciTech and Select Property Group and is already home to Manchester Technology Centre occupied by over 22 data science and technology innovation businesses, and pop-up retail destination Hatch.
“We are delighted to be welcoming Hewlett Packard Enterprise to Circle Square, a fitting home for a global business which shares our ambitions and passion for best-in-class innovation,” said Bradley Topps, Commercial Director, Bruntwood SciTech. “HPE has one of the most comprehensive product portfolios in the industry and a vision for the future of technology and its benefits that we wholeheartedly share. They understand as well as anyone the power of technology to fuel ideas and accelerate growth.”
Ahead of the move to Circle Square, HPE will relocate some employees to an interim office at Manchester Technology Centre, in the first half of 2019. This space – with 100 dedicated seats and an option to add more – will also be fitted out with Aruba technology.
“We’re delighted to be assisting Hewlett Packard Enterprise in establishing operations in the city. As the UK’s second largest creative, digital and technology hub, Greater Manchester is a hotbed for collaboration and innovation – and I have no doubt that HPE will quickly and effectively utilise this to drive the future of technology,” said Tim Newns, CEO of MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency. “Since developing the world’s first stored program computer, Greater Manchester has pioneered computer science, software programming and development, which makes it the ideal business location for world leading brands like HPE; which joins the likes of Amazon, Jaguar Land Rover and GCHQ who are also tapping in to the wealth of knowledge and expertise that is available here.”
