The 11-strong agency has signed a five-year lease for 1,800 square feet of space on the 5th floor of The Hive, Lever Street – the only grade A office space in the Northern Quarter. It was previously located in boutique offices in Piccadilly Gardens.
The move follows the continuing growth of the business, which launched in April 2009 and now has a £1million plus fee income. It has just been ranked as a top 15 UK healthcare agency – a key area of expertise – by industry body PR Week, and a top 30 agency outside London.
The new offices will accommodate a growing team. Two new senior consultants joined in autumn 2015 with a further two senior appointments joining in June.
Managing Director Libby Howard said: ”This is a landmark move for the business and a confident statement in our future.
“We have invested £100,000 to convert an empty shell at The Hive into a five-star working environment that is designed to cope with future expansion.
“We looked at a number of different offices but the Hive was the only one to combine the highest quality of office space with a convenient city centre location – important for both our team and our clients. We also love the fact that it is such an energy efficient building, with a BREEAM Excellent rating.”
Ric Tsang, Asset manager at building landlord Kames Capital, said: “The Hive is the stand out building of the Northern Quarter and Intelligent Conversation are an ideal tenant for such an innovative building.”
The design, build and fit-out of the offices was conducted by Manchester-based Select Interiors. The company managed the six-week project from start to finish – using reclaimed and new materials to transform an empty shell into a contemporary and inspiring open plan office, including meeting rooms and break-out spaces.
Carl Brown, Managing Director of Select Interiors, said: “Intelligent Conversation had a clear vision for this project. They wanted to create a five-star working environment for their team and for clients and we have absolutely achieved that.”