WeWork, the US company that provides trendy office space on flexible leases, is set to branch out into the UK’s regional cities for the first time after agreeing a deal to open in Manchester.
The new centre, which will be housed in the tallest commercial building to be built in Manchester in the last 50 years, marks the latest push in the company’s rapid UK roll-out.
WeWork’s Manchester office – its 20th UK outpost – comes just three years after the company brought its brand of serviced offices for the millennial generation over from the United States.
The move to Manchester points to the city’s emergence as a hub for media and technology brands, which make up many of WeWork’s tenants. More than 8,000 start-ups were established in the Greater Manchester region last year.
WeWork will open in the new No. 1 Spinningfields building, which is being developed by Allied London. It hopes to be operational at the start of next year.
Joe Gaunt, the UK managing director for WeWork, said Manchester was “an obvious choice” for its second city.