Transaction Agreed With Independent Bank Sees Express Building Fully Let
27 June 2025The Express Building in Ancoats, Manchester has achieved full occupancy following the completion of a 23,000 sq ft transaction on the final two floors to DF Capital, a specialist savings and commercial lending bank, under a 10-year lease agreement.
DF Capital, which provides award-winning commercial finance solutions and savings products to consumers and small businesses, are currently the first and only independent bank to have its headquarters based in Manchester. The team of 130 were previously located on Oxford Street before the move.
Originally built in 1939, for the Daily Express newspaper, the restoration of the grade II* listed Express Building was completed in 2019 and now boasts over 77,500 sq ft of contemporary workspace. Whittington are current owners of the building.
OBI, represented the landlord Wittington Property (Investments) Ltd on the transaction. Other businesses occupying the building include cyber security firm, Novacoast, co-working brand, Huckletree, and VF Corporation, who use the space as showrooms for brands including Vans, The North Face and Timberland.
Richard Lace, Transactions and Asset Management, said: “The Express Building is a Manchester landmark and the calibre of names now occupying the building reflects the quality of the space Wittington have provided and the iconic nature of the building. I am pleased to see we have created a dynamic mix of tech, fashion, digital and creative companies, which was always the vision when we set out this repositioning back in 2019.”
Related articles
The blurring of built and bought
27 January 2026The blurring of built and bought There’s one question that comes up on almost every office project. Do we build the meeting rooms, or do we buy them? A few years ago, this was an easy call. Built meant quality. Furniture meant compromise. But that line is getting increasingly blurred and built and bought are […]
The Wrap: OBI’s Take on November’s Notable Moments
09 December 2025The Office for Budget Responsibility might make a big, indeed seemingly impossible job out of timely publication of key communications, but there are no such problems here – we present to you the first OBI end-of-month digest, a wrap-up of notable goings-on, things you might have missed and things you can still catch up on. […]
Opus signs 7,500 sq ft Warrington relocation
08 December 2025The civil and electrical engineering services outfit has moved from Culcheth to Trinity within Birchwood Park. Opus Group has signed a five-year lease on the final 7,500 sq ft within the building, which is owned by Tandem Investments. Tandem acquired the Crab Lane building and its two neighbours in 2022. In 2023, the firm sold […]