After signing a lease on the entirety of 125 Deansgate from landlord Worthington Properties, Spaces is understood to have now agreed a deal to manage the whole building on behalf of BT. The coworking arm of Regus announced in May it would be moving into the 116,000 sq ft building in the centre of Manchester following its completion at the end of this year. Now, market rumours suggest that Spaces has waded into the long-running BT requirement, which has seen the telecommunications company courted by developers and office agents across the city. BT has been looking for between 150,000 sq ft and 200,000 sq ft in Manchester, visiting schemes such as Bruntwood SciTech’s Circle Square, Hermes’ Noma, U+I’s Mayfield, and Allied London’s Enterprise City. BT has been particularly linked with Circle Square; there are 400,000 sq ft of offices being built on the Oxford Road site, with completions due between 2020 and 2022. The agreement with Spaces at 125 Deansgate is understood to be on a three-year managed contract, potentially delivering ‘swing space’ for BT before it moves on to a longer term office. The arrangement echoes that of Amazon and WeWork at Hanover House; the building is operated by WeWork, while Amazon is the majority tenant. BT is represented by JLL, while Knight Frank, Savills and Cheetham & Mortimer are the agents for Worthington. Spaces and the agents have been contacted for comment. Spaces was founded in the Netherlands, and was acquired by Regus in 2015 as part of the serviced office operator’s bid to compete with the rapid rise of WeWork.
BT is understood to have negotiated a deal with BT to take 125 Deansgate in Manchester as a stop - gap before it moved into larger premises . BT took the 116,000 sq ft property in June . The developers have reportedly agreed a three - year contract for BT to occupy the entire site with Spaces managing the building . Longer - wise , BT wants a property providing between 150,000 sq ft and 200,000 sq ft in the city and is thought to be interested in the Circle Square development , where construction is expected to be completed between 2020 and 2022 .