Broadband provider TalkTalk and the Home Office have agreed major deals to move to the Soapworks office development on Ordsall Lane in Salford.
TalkTalk is to take 106,000sq ft on a 15-year deal while the government department has agreed to let 54,000sq ft on a 10-year deal.
It means TalkTalk will consolidate its entire North West presence into Salford Quays.
Revealed: Cadishead TalkTalk offices to close as hundreds of staff move to Salford Quays
The Home Office will relocate to Salford from a number of premises across Greater Manchester, including Manchester Airport. The move is due to take place in June 2016.
It’s the first major lettings deal announced at Soapworks, the former Colgate-Palmolive factory on Ordsall Lane.
Global asset managers The Carlyle Group say the TalkTalk deal is the second largest ever deal agreed at Salford Quays since the BBC announced its relocation to MediaCityUK in 2007.
The move represents the latest business expansion on former derelict brownfield sites in the unfashionable Ordsall area – now being rebranded as an extension of Salford Quays.
Further down Ordsall Lane a derelict former cinema site is being taken over by Capital & Centric for their £2.7 million ‘Digital Village’.
Read: Work starts on 2.7m Capital & Centric Digital Village in Ordsall
Next door to the Soapworks at Exchange Quay, US-based Hunter Real Estate Management is investing £10 million in improving public realm along the Irwell riverside, with Elior announced as managers this week for a new gym, Costa coffee outlet and restaurant at its office block development.
Ben Du Boulay, director of The Carlyle Group, said the Soapworks development was addressing the shortage of commercial options for businesses in the region.
“When we commenced the redevelopment of the former Colgate factory in Salford, we were confident that there was a strong latent demand from regional occupiers across both the public and private sectors for high quality office space, particularly if it was located in such an iconic historical building as Soapworks.
“Both lettings are a significant endorsement of that belief.
“Our offering is attracting interest from the highest calibre of businesses and we are looking forward to a long and successful relationship with the newest addition to our community.”
The Carlyle Group and its joint venture partners were advised by the JLL lettings agent director Chris Mulcahy, with joint agents Canning O’Neill.
Soapworks image by David Dixon via geograph.org
