Key Travel takes ninth floor at Bruntwood's iconic St James’ building

Leading property company Bruntwood has welcomed third sector travel management leader and existing Bruntwood customer, Key Travel, to the newly refurbished ninth floor of its landmark St James’ building on Oxford Road in Manchester.

Key Travel recently announced a merger with Raptim Humanitarian Travel to form the world’s largest travel management company exclusively focused on the academic, humanitarian and faith sectors.

The merged business, which has over 500 employees in ten countries and sales of over £350 million, has taken the entire newly-refurbished ninth floor at St James’, which is just under 20,000 sq ft.

The St James’ Building dates back to 1912 and was once the headquarters of the Calico Printers Association. Bruntwood has sensitively transformed the landmark with a comprehensive refurbishment, which has regenerated the historic building creating a vibrant, contemporary home for Manchester’s next generation of businesses.

One of the finest period properties in the city, St James’ also boasts some of the best digital connectivity in Manchester and as part of the Oxford Road Corridor Innovation District, offers the opportunity to link and collaborate with a wealth of innovative organisations based on the doorstep.

Following the ninth floor refurbishment, Bruntwood harnessed projection mapping and augmented reality (AR) to showcase the suite, creating a bespoke AR app to provide potential customers with an immersive viewing experience.

Adam Selka, Senior Asset Manager at Bruntwood Works, said: “It’s wonderful that Key Travel have chosen this outstanding suite - particularly at this exciting point in the business’ journey. Key Travel have been a Bruntwood customer at Lowry House since 2017 occupying a full floor of 8,000 sq ft. We're delighted that they've chosen to grow with us and take a leased space at St James's."

“The ninth floor at St James’ is a unique space in the city, offering a spacious, dynamic open plan environment in a beautiful period property complete with outstanding contemporary features, facilities and amenities. St James’ also offers customers excellent connectivity, and great access to a vibrant community of the most innovative and exciting organisations in the region. It’s a great space in an unbeatable location and we wish the Key Travel team the very best of luck as they settle into their new home.”

John O Sullivan, Managing Director for Key Travel in the UK said: “Although we continue to grow our company globally, our Manchester office has always been and will continue to be the heart of our operations. The move to St. James’ will reinforce our presence in the city whilst perfectly accommodating our objectives for future growth and providing a great working environment for our people. We are truly looking forward to becoming part of the history of this great building.”

Founded in 1980, Key Travel works with over 1,900 clients in 54 countries worldwide. It offers a range of travel support services for its clients including visa applications and passport renewals, risk management, rail, and hotel booking and management services. The company utilises its sector expertise, technology and unique products to anticipate their clients’ needs and simplify the travel process, delivering a tailored experience.

Addelshaw Goddard represented Bruntwood and Glaisyers Solicitors represented Key Travel.