Bruntwood SciTech Unveils Reimagined Hub for Manchester’s Innovation & Creative Sectors, Including £6m Transformation of 117-119 Portland Street

Bruntwood SciTech, the UK’s largest property platform dedicated to growing the nation’s innovation, tech and science sectors, has completed its £6 million transformation of the historic 117-119 Portland Street building, situated at the gateway to the city’s Oxford Road Corridor knowledge quarter.

The reimagined building joins three others - 113-115 Portland Street, 127 Portland Street and 61 Oxford Street - as part of the new Thread Works gateway cluster between the knowledge quarter and city centre. Inspired by both the buildings’ heritage and future, the name Thread Works draws on the buildings’ first ever user Schill Seebohm & Co - 19th century shipping merchants trading Manchester's famous locally made textiles from these buildings in the 1880s, and the concept of a ‘thread’ in technology typically being the smallest set or sequence of instructions that a computer handles. Together, the inspirations shape a name and cluster  which reflects the entrepreneurial spirit that weaves together the four buildings, the new business community that will be based there of creative, tech and innovation-led businesses, and its creative legacy.

The completed investment sees 117 Portland Street offer 35,000 sq ft of contemporary workspace across six floors, with purposeful design to support ambitious businesses of all sizes in the creative, tech, and innovation sectors to scale, with nine new flexible suites ranging from 1,200 to 6,200 sq ft now available.

As part of the refurbishment, Bruntwood SciTech - a joint venture between Bruntwood, L&G, and Greater Manchester Pension Fund - has delivered a future-ready, sustainable and fully fitted and furnished workspace that addresses the changing demands of today’s market whilst preserving the building’s historic character. 

Reflecting the business’ continued commitment to sustainability, the building is now fully electric, operationally is net zero carbon in all of its shared spaces, is powered by 100% renewable energy, and has achieved an EPC ‘A’ rating - a significant milestone for a Grade II listed building, originally built in 1886. 

As the heart of the cluster, the building will act as the focal events and social hub to support connection and collaboration across the four buildings, with a 40-seat auditorium, communal breakout lounges on both the ground and lower ground floors, an onsite gym, and boutique gym-quality showers and changing facilities, helping to foster community, work-life balance, and active travel.

This blend of heritage and sustainable, high specification workspace with premium amenities, has seen the building attract strong interest ahead of the works completing. The entire ground floor has been pre-let to WW+P Architects and Egis UK. Property Hub, the property investment education specialists and podcast producers, will also soon be joining 117-119 Portland Street too.

Businesses locating to Thread Works will join Bruntwood SciTech’s Manchester community of more than 400 startups, scaleups and global businesses across their 21 city centre innovation hubs and 4 campuses, as well as their national network of over 1,100 innovation, tech and science companies. They also gain access to Bruntwood SciTech’s innovation growth support which provides everything a business needs to scale - including connections with the brightest talent, capital and investment, as well as introductions to established partners such as universities, hospital trusts and other public and private sector organisations. At the gateway to the knowledge quarter, Thread Works customers will especially benefit from introductions and access to top-class talent at the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University as well as alternative training providers all based on the Oxford Road Corridor.

Jack Harrison, Commercial Manager for Bruntwood SciTech, said: “The transformation of 117–119 Portland Street marks a key milestone in our mission to support businesses looking to access Manchester’s growing innovation ecosystem. As the anchor of our new Thread Works cluster, it will provide a home for small to mid-sized fast growing businesses to connect, collaborate and scale both within the immediate neighbourhood, and across Bruntwood SciTech’s city-wide ecosystem..

"WW+P’s arrival reinforces the important role workspace and our established ecosystem plays in the growth of creative and innovative businesses. As the practice joins our growing community of forward thinking, ambitious businesses, we will continue to support cross-industry collaboration that leads to future defining work."

Adam Brown, Associate and Manchester Studio Lead at WW+P Architects, said: “Joining the Thread Works cluster marks an exciting moment in our strategic growth as we expand our presence in the North. Five years after we started working here, moving into our first permanent residence offers us the opportunity to deepen our connections with the city and focus on our ongoing commitment to championing design quality and technical excellence across the region.

“We look forward to continuing to contribute to Manchester’s legacy of great architecture and creative collaboration from our new home.”

The completed refurbishment forms part of Bruntwood SciTech’s £243 million programme underway across Manchester city centre, delivering 727,000 sq ft of new specialist office and lab space. With major projects including the Pall Mall redevelopment, King’s House and No.3 Circle Square, Thread Works is the latest completion, meeting continued demand for specialist workspace from the city’s growing community of innovation-led businesses.