Explore Offices for Rent near Manchester Airport
The Greater Manchester Pension Fund, property development group Argent, and construction and support services giant Carillion are the front runners for creating ‘Airport City’, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Other parties are still battling it out with the apparent favourites for the contract, but the Manchester Airport Group (MAG) is believed to have all but decided on the matter.
The Airport City scheme looks set to become one of the most expansive the North West of England has ever seen. Planning permission has already been granted for 1.5 million square feet of office space and large-scale retail, leisure, hotel, logistics, and manufacturing facilities.
A spokesperson for MAG said: “No party has yet been selected for the final stage in our joint venture partner selection process.
“We are pleased with the level of interest shown to date by a number of parties in relation to the Airport City Project at Manchester Airport; as a number of bids have come from a range of international developers and funders.”
In addition to Manchester Airport, MAG owns and operates London Stansted, and both the East Midlands and Bournemouth airports elsewhere in the UK. MAG Developments is leading the Airport City project, a government-backed Enterprise Zone development.
Editor’s Notes: In November 2013 (after this article was published), it was reported that logistics company DHL was the first tenant to sign a pre-let agreement committing them to a 37,300 square foot building at Airport City South.
Online beauty and wellbeing giant The Hut Group (THG) also signed a major deal to develop 1 million sqft of offices and studio space at the scheme.
By 2023, plans had expanded to 5 million square feet of office space, logistics, hotels and advanced manufacturing space to be developed over the next 10-15 years. The total anticipated development cost was forecast at £1 billion.
Located in the Manchester Enterprise Zone, the scheme offers a wide range of property options, including offices with floor plates ranging from 5,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet, with the potential to provide up to 85,000 square feet of rentable office space in one building.
The offices were built to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ specification, and office rent was quoted at £23 per square foot.
In October 2026, MAG Property said it needed to move a key airport road to progress its expansion plans. The latest proposal was part of the ongoing £1.3 billion transformation of Manchester Airport, which has extended Terminal Two, doubled its size, and made Terminal One redundant.
At the time, flexible office space and workspace solutions were available at Manchester Airport from international office provider Regus on Aviator Way at Manchester Business Park.
These solutions included private serviced offices and coworking spaces available on flexible licences with all-inclusive fees.
In October, 250,000 square feet of BREEAM Excellent office space at Airport City North was under offer by an undisclosed occupier.