The transformation of a brownfield site in Altrincham is being supported with a £23.25 million loan from Trafford Council.

Network Space Developments is set to regenerate the former Cartwright headquarters on Atlantic Street into a mixture of high-quality refurbished space, alongside new builds, creating a modern, multi-let industrial site designed to attract a variety of businesses.

Known as Broadheath Networkcentre, some 205,000 sq ft of accommodation will be delivered across 25 units, with workspace available from 2,100 sq ft to 39,500 sq ft. The development has the capacity to create upwards of 400 new jobs and provide much needed speculative workspace in the region.

Regional sub-contractors will be encouraged to become involved in the scheme, as well as local training and employment opportunities being provided during construction. Once complete, the scheme will have an estimated GDV of £45 million.

A highly sustainable development, the scheme will target BREEAM Very Good and EPC A ratings. Existing steel and concrete structures on site will be reused and recycled, resulting in a significant reduction in embodied carbon within the development. Individual units are designed to accommodate photovoltaic panels to support renewable energy provision and electric vehicle charging will be provided across the entire scheme.

As well as supporting Network Space Developments to bring forward the scheme, the loan from Trafford’s Investment Programme includes a number of conditions to promote environmental efficiency, on-site renewable power, electrical vehicle charging points, space for SME businesses and the use of local sub-contractors and apprentices.

Cllr Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, said: “The loan fits well with Trafford’s investment strategy and wider council goals, encouraging the creation of high quality employment space in-borough while requiring high environmental standards and social impacts, as well as providing income that can be reinvested in front line services.

“The proposed quality of this scheme and the demand for this type of space from a range of businesses that want to move into or stay in Altrincham gives confidence that it will perform exceptionally well. We are pleased that the developer is re-using a number of existing buildings on site to create modern smaller units that will suit SME occupiers.”

Dan Adamson, group finance director for Network Space, said: “We recognised the importance of this site to the local area when we acquired it just over a year ago. Since then, we have worked collaboratively with Trafford Council. This will be a best-in-class scheme and, together, we will maximise the positive impact of the project, delivering high quality employment space, jobs opportunities, inward investment and economic growth.

“Planning consent is now in place to repurpose the existing buildings, alongside the delivery of new, energy efficient units. We have already received strong enquiries from a wide range of occupiers ranging from local businesses, trade occupiers to last mile urban logistics firms.

“With a prospective occupier already in legals for the largest unit, the strength of the local market is very evident.”

Network Space commenced the demolition in early May and is aiming for practical completion in spring 2023. The loan will be repaid in phases post completion.

Jonathan Williams at Savills and Will Kenyon at B8 have been appointed as letting agents for Broadheath Networkcentre by Network Space. The wider professional team includes Walker Sime, project management and quantity surveying, AEW architects and Spawforths is the planning advisor.

Manchester based property consultants OBI, appointed to deliver the fit out of the new global headquarters of Booking.com’s Trips division at Manchester Goods Yard (Enterprise City), have announced completion of the development’s first phase.

The new Manchester office development will be Booking.com’s second largest global hub outside of Amsterdam and represents an investment of £100m. OBI has been appointed to provide workplace consultancy, interior design, project management, contract administration and cost consultancy services for the bespoke fit out, which covers circa 175,000 sq ft of space set over five floors.

The new unique office space, once complete, will bring Booking.com’s 1,000-strong team in Manchester – including 300 new roles created this year – under one roof.

Key features of the design include, fully connected meeting spaces, team rooms, breakout spaces, catering facilities, ‘zen’ spaces, conference auditorium facilities with a seminar event space for 250 people, games rooms and external winter gardens on each floor.

Smart office monitoring systems have also been incorporated into the project. This will help Booking.com understand how many people are in each space enabling smart technology to monitor and adjust environments to suit the social environment in the office.

The building will have a number of internal green spaces to encourage employee wellness and the office space has been themed and designed through a truly global lens, inspired by all seven continents. OBI’s workplace team have chosen designs, colours and planting with nods to each theme.

Manchester Goods Yard forms part of Enterprise City. The building was inspired by the industrial warehouses of Brooklyn, New York and its design epitomises modern hybrid ways of working, bringing people together to create and inspire in the most vibrant environment possible.

Joe Weilding at OBI said: “We have been working with Booking.com for over four years on this project and to finally see this coming together as planned is very rewarding. The whole team have worked closely to ensure we remained within budget whilst delivering a truly world class workspace and on programme.

“The project has been challenging with many moving parts but to deliver the first phase of the scheme as planned is fantastic.”

Matthias Schmid, acting Vice President of Booking.com’s Trips Division said: “Manchester Goods Yard represents a landmark investment in our people and the future of Booking.com in the city. The tech scene in the North West is world-leading and undoubtedly home to the talent that will drive our growth in years to come. Having what will be one of the UK’s most modern and contemporary workspaces to call home strengthens our ability to attract and retain the very best people as we continue to develop the technologies that support seamless, connected travel.”

Tanya Grady, head of partnerships and enterprise at Enterprise City, said: “We can’t wait to welcome Booking.com and its workforce to our new enterprise district and community. We’ve been working tirelessly on the curation and development of this new city centre neighbourhood over the past few years and having tech leader Booking.com invest in our vision and join as a key anchor is monumental for us.

“We’re only at the beginning of our journey, and as more of the cluster and its buildings come online over the coming months, we believe Enterprise City will fast become the centre for tech, media and creative businesses, both big and small in the north, bringing with it investment, a rich talent pool and a significant economic impact.”

The work is set to complete in September 2022 and will have taken a total of 12 months.

Enterprise City at St John’s Neighbourhood is already home to Bonded Warehouse, a Grade A office development and the ABC Buildings, a repurposed 1960s building which houses creative, media and broadcast businesses. The district is also set to welcome Soho House and Mollie’s, which will boast upwards of 130 rooms, a 164-cover diner restaurant, a lounge bar with live music and private hire event space, workspace and lounge, and an outdoor heated terrace in early 2023 which will be located in the city’s landmark Old Granada Studios building.

Manchester Goods Yard – due for occupation by the end of 2022 – will be based in the new St John’s Neighbourhood which is built around enterprise, culture and living. The neighbourhood comprises over 2 million sq ft of development assets, 10 acres of new public realm, 600 new residential apartments, the new home of Manchester International Festival (MIF) and a new boutique hotel.

OBI project managed the fit out and negotiated the lease on the building. This collection of services is known as ‘OBI Difference’.

Endpoint Automation Services (EAS), the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) specialist is preparing for further expansion with the opening of a NW location in Central Manchester.

Located at Peter House, Oxford Street, Manchester M1 5AN, the new office is based within a contemporary Spaces (formerly Regus) facility, and will afford easily access to servicing both current and potential clients based in Manchester, Liverpool and the surrounding areas.

The Manchester office will be EAS’s third UK-based location, complementing operations at both its Oswestry head office, and also the company’s Glasgow base, which opened last month.

Several members of the current EAS team will now operate from EAS’s Manchester office including newly appointed RPA Consultant, July Moss who joined in July.

Phil Lewis EAS MD comments: “We have a number of key clients already in the area, and in recent months, we have seen an influx of interest from businesses who are all keen to realise the potential that RPA can bring to their operations, by reducing costs and increasing productivity.

“With three UK locations and a presence in the US, we have a substantial base to now build upon, and are looking forward to celebrating further growth over the coming months.”

With a business model perfectly suited to today’s business challenges, software solutions business EAS, was founded in 2015 and produces intelligent software automation solutions to organisations nationally including, pharma and public health bodies (including the NHS), manufacturing industries, insurance, legal and higher education sectors.

Physical robots have already transformed the plant floor, and now software robots are transforming everything else. EAS’s automation drives efficiencies in R&D, operations, supply chain management, customer engagement, and employee productivity.

EAS specialises in producing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions, and with a background in complex IT and cloud automation, offer automated processing. Since establishing the business in 2015, EAS has achieved to date over £3 million in cost savings for its clients, through the development and deployment of software robots to replace manual, repetitive processes and freeing up valuable employee time to focus on more complex tasks.

The company achieved a turnover of in excess of £1.8m for 2021, up from £820,000 in 2020, and is now targeting sales of £2.2m for 2022.