One of Europe’s largest Peer to Peer finance companies moves to its new Manchester HQ.
Barwood Capital, the UK investment and real estate business, and national logistics developer DB Symmetry have announced that Assetz Capital, one of Europe’s largest Peer to Peer financing companies, has signed up to Building 3 at Manchester Green, a five office building scheme totalling 107,000 sq ft adjacent to Manchester International Airport.
Assetz Capital, part of the Manchester-based Assetz Group, has relocated from Newby Road in Hazel Grove where it occupied 3,000 sq ft of a 6,000 building, to take the newly refurbished 14,838 sq ft building on a 10-year lease. The company joins Worley Parsons and Chiesi which occupy Building 1 (20,000 sq ft) and Building 5 (18,500 sq ft) respectively.
Stuart Law, CEO and co-founder, Assetz Capital, commented: “Since launching Assetz Capital in 2013 we have experienced exponential growth and we are now the second largest Peer to Peer business and property lender in the UK. As a national brand, we proudly call Manchester our home and our new office will act as a centre for our regional teams located throughout the country as well as supporting our nationwide office network. As P2P lending becomes more mainstream, we expect further growth in our head office team and for this prestigious, self-contained building and its location to help support our ambitious growth strategy.”
Barwood Capital acquired the business park in 2013 as part of its 2012 Property Fund, and since then with DB Symmetry, has embarked on a comprehensive phased refurbishment programme across the estate.
Speaking about the deal, Andrew Dickman, director at DB Symmetry, Manchester, said: “After acquiring the scheme in 2013 we undertook a major refurbishment of all the buildings and have trebled occupancy levels. This area of South Manchester has developed into a commercial destination in its own right, underlined by the excellent covenants Manchester Green has secured.”
James Dickinson, director at Canning O’Neill, joint agents for the scheme with JLL, continued: “Barwood Capital’s investment in the building has paid dividends. This letting means that only 30,000 sq ft remains available in Building 4 where we have a strong level of interest.”
Assetz Capital represented itself. The quoting rent is £17.50 per sq ft.
