Article Summary

The government has recently announced that a new Government Hub will be created in the heart of Manchester in 2025. Forming part of the government’s ‘Places for Growth’ programme, thousands of civil servants will work from a state-of-the-art building in Manchester city centre.

Government departments moving to Manchester

The lease agreement for this Manchester property investment was signed between the Government Property Agency (GPA) with developer Ask Real Estate and its joint venture partner, The Richardson Family. The building itself is to be located on 12,000 sq mt site on First Street.

Once complete, the new Hub will host 2,500 civil servants, including 700 of which will have been relocated from London. Departments including the Cabinet Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Department for Education and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy will all have a presence in Manchester.

Economic benefits

This announcement is just the latest proof of the government’s commitment to Manchester. Already more than 700 government jobs have been relocated to the city.

The move of all of these jobs to Manchester is expected to generate £31million for the city’s economy due to increased economic activity from staff.

It will also have an impact on Manchester’s property market. An influx of new jobs will not only bring people relocating from the civil service in London, but from other parts of the country too. This will lead to increased residential demand, and for those with a property investment in Manchester, better financial returns.

Encouraging job creation

Clive Anderson, GPA’s Director of Capital Projects spoke of how the Manchester property investment into the Hub will bring an effective government workplace to the city.

He said the hubs will create “modern, inclusive environments where departments can be collocated in shared buildings across the UK. This supports the Government’s Levelling Up agenda and Places for Growth initiative, encouraging the movement and creation of jobs outside London.”