Schroder Real Estate Investment Management (Schroders) has agreed a deal to bring the London School of Commerce (LSC) to City Tower in Manchester.
The world-class educational organisation will occupy 8,215 sq. ft. of space on the sixth floor of City Tower, having signed a seven-year lease to occupy part of the landmark building.
Currently based in London Bridge, the LSC offers students a diverse range of business and management programmes, including undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate qualifications.
Since LSC launched in 1998, it has expanded internationally with campuses in Malta, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bangladesh. LSC has recently undertaken an expansion of its operations across the UK recently opening in Birmingham and is actively seeking additional locations.
Rob Cosslett, Investment Manager at Schroder Real Estate, said:
“We are excited to have secured another new tenant at City Tower and look forward to welcoming LSC to the building.
“The move forms an important part of our strategy to ensure we are enhancing the asset through the diversification of our tenant mix and the use of the building, in response to the changing needs of the market and the modern workforce.”
Schroders acquired City Tower in 2014 in one of the largest single-asset trades recorded in the region, at c.£132m.
Schroders has also worked with local businesses to launch an exclusive ‘City Tower Black Card’. For example, a new tenant-only smartphone application and online portal was launched earlier this month.
The new app provides tenants of the building with a host of discounts, events and wider initiatives across Manchester. The scheme includes a bespoke event package as well as a dedicated Health and Wellbeing programme, which has brought activities such as ‘Barry’s Bootcamp’ and yoga classes to the top floor of City Tower.
Rob Cosslett added: “With more than 3,000 tenants in City Tower – across businesses of all types – we understand the importance of creating a community amongst the workforce. This has become more important when looking to attract and retain tenants, and we continue to work with our new and current occupiers to ensure our approach is aligned to their key requirements.”
City Tower is held in a joint venture between Schroders Real Estate Investment Trust, the actively managed UK REIT, Schroder UK Real Estate Fund and Immobilien Europa Direkt.