Westlab land at Oxford Court

Oxford Court should provide Westlab with the perfect antidote to Manchester’s bustling city centre.

Westlab’s head office team were looking for a more permanent home in Manchester city centre but needed somewhere that matched the calmness and tranquillity of their wellness brand.

Serviced offices are all very well, but sometimes a business needs its own dedicated space. That was the conclusion reached by Westlab, one of the UK’s leading Bath Salts brands.

Westlab recently grew its head office team to fifteen which took it beyond the natural ‘tipping point’ for serviced offices. Generally speaking, this is reached when you exceed twelve desks. Any more desks than this and conventional leased offices tend to be more cost-effective.

TAG were recommended to Westlab by one of their investors. Based on their brief, we estimated that the space requirement would be between 1,250-1,500 sq.ft..

 The suite that was eventually acquired on the Fourth Floor of 15 Oxford Court measures 1,364 sq.ft. so right in the middle of the target size range. The quality of natural light and generous ceiling heights make the suite feel bigger due to its bright and airy feel.

It is worth pointing out that the quoted floor area of the suite was 1,392 sq.ft.. The result of our independent check measurement was a reduction of 2.08%. This was agreed with the Landlord’s surveyor as the correct Net Internal Area of the suite so was used as the basis for the rent calculation.  

The suite was delivered by the landlord to an enhanced CAT A specification which included a kitchenette, a meeting room and a private office with glazed partitioning. The building itself features air conditioning and raised access floors making it both comfortable and flexible in use. These aspects and the slightly smaller footprint helped make it a more cost-effective property solution for the business than some of the other available options.

A new five year lease was negotiated inclusive of a Tenant-only Break Option at the end of the third year. The lease also benefits from the security of tenure provisions of the 1954 Landlord & Tenant Act which means Westlab will have a statutory right to renew its’ lease in five years’ time. There are rent-free periods included as part of the deal and the service charge will be subject to annual CPI inflation linked cap.

If you would like help with identifying a new office for your business whether it be in Manchester or elsewhere in the UK, please call Martyn Markland on 0161 457 1422 or email him at mm@tenantag.co.uk.