North West property giant Bruntwood Works has secured deals totalling 100,000 sq ft across its Liverpool office portfolio in 2021. Tony McDonough reports
Bruntwood Work has secured deals totalling 100,000 sq ft across its Liverpool commercial property portfolio in 2021 as it successfully targeted the SME market.
It owns several buildings in Liverpool city centre including The Plaza, Cotton Exchange and Queen Insurance Buildings. It has enjoyed particular success with its serviced office space offering at the The Plaza.
Businesses are able to pay a fixed cost per desk for their space that includes aspects such as rent, superfast broadband, cleaning and mail handling.
A number of existing customers have also expanded significantly within Bruntwood Works’ buildings during this time, including Marcloud, CFS Freight and Three Graces Legal, who are all based at Cotton Exchange, with others currently under negotiation.
Tony Reed, head of commercial at Bruntwood, said: “There is a common assumption that most business owners and their teams have stayed away from their workspaces in the past 18 months and that buildings are increasingly empty, but that’s simply not the case in our experience.
“This has arguably been one of our busiest years on record in Liverpool as we’ve agreed deals with businesses for space in excess of 100,000 sq ft, while enquiries have been consistently high throughout the period.
“The city has a flourishing SME community and is therefore less reliant on major occupiers or multi-location firms. Many SMEs tell us they need to be together to share ideas and develop strategies in order to grow and it is their ambitions that have driven much of our activity this year.
“We have also made multi-million-pound investments in our Liverpool portfolio in recent years and that work is clearly paying dividends. Businesses increasingly want high-quality space where they are proud to bring clients and staff, coupled with features such as breakout spaces, event facilities and opportunities to collaborate with their peers.
“That investment continues, with ongoing enhancements at Cotton Exchange, Queen Insurance Buildings and Exchange Court. Our multi-million pound Pioneer development at The Plaza is also due to complete in early 2022, transforming the space with a new restaurant and bar, communal lounge, fitness suite, gym and bike storage.
“Enquiries and pipeline for 2022 are already buoyant across a range of business sectors and we have some newly-refurbished suites coming available soon, so we are looking ahead to another highly positive year for our Liverpool properties.”