The move strengthens the company’s 30-year-long presence in the city and unites 550 people from long-established WPP agencies in Manchester – EssenceMediacom, Code Computerlove, Cheetham Bell, Wavemaker, Cloud Commerce Group and Kinetic – as well as agencies new to the area: Ogilvy Health and VMLY&R Health.
The modern, 67,000-sqft office space was designed by BDG architecture + design, a WPP company, and is split over eight floors to provide collaborative and dynamic co-working areas for the agencies which have grown significantly in the last five years.
The campus has put inclusive design at its heart to meet the evolving and diverse needs of its people, including flexible workspaces that reflect WPP’s continued focus on mental wellbeing. It boasts three double-height social hubs with feature stairs, additional accessible toilets and dedicated mothers’ rooms. The building also includes a roof terrace with views across the city, as well as a café, bar, and business event space. Sustainability is at the centre of the renovation – as it is for all new WPP campus buildings – and the Manchester Campus is targeting a BREEAM rating of Excellent.
The Manchester Campus will also serve as a catalyst for growth in the local community. Through partnerships with organisations like The ScaleUp Institute, WPP plans to support and foster small businesses in Manchester, providing them with opportunities to collaborate and grow alongside its agencies. The campus will also partner through a variety of volunteering opportunities with local community groups such as The Trussell Trust and Mustard Tree, who are dedicated to addressing food waste, and preventing homelessness and poverty respectively.
Gemma Handley, Managing Director at Code, said: "Despite being a hybrid-first company, the physical space we use to come together, collaborate and do our work forms a massive part of our culture.
Throughout the years, our physical spaces have continually evolved around the needs of our Computerlovers, and the opportunity to now come together with other WPP agencies under one roof to drive creativity and growth is incredibly exciting for Code."
Karen Blackett OBE, UK President of WPP, said: "Manchester has always been a city brimming with growth and creativity and we wanted to be at the heart of that. The city is also home to a beautiful fruit salad of people and we need to reflect that in our organisations in order to generate growth. We are thrilled to see this vision come to life and become an integral part of the vibrant Manchester community."
