Flexible workspace company Koba has agreed a partnership lease with AEW for its first UK site in Manchester city centre.
The company has signed a 10-year lease on circa 30,000 sq ft at 100 Barbirolli Square. The new site, to be known as Koba @ 100 Barbirolli Square, will operate across two levels of the 200,000 sq ft, 10-storey Grade A office building.
Koba was founded in 2023 by Paul Nellist, Rob Stewart, James Thorne and Tom Beard, and the company is set to announce its second location in the coming weeks.
Paul Nellist, managing director of Koba, said: “It was incredibly important to mark the start of Koba’s journey with a venture that enables us to implement our sustainability manifesto and demonstrate that we can create premium workspaces that are demonstrably better for people and the planet. Having worked closely with our partners to devise a design framework that focuses on the circular economy, we are excited that our vision will be realised at 100 Barbirolli Square.”
Andrew Cowell, from OBI, which represented AEW on the letting, added: “We are thrilled that Koba will be launching at 100 Barbirolli Square this year. Koba’s premium and sustainable offering will deliver a new type of flexible workspace and is set to generate a huge amount of interest in Manchester. Koba @ 100 Barbirolli Square will add immense value to the scheme and is an important part of the ongoing activation of the building as it will enhance the amenities available to current and future tenants. Interest in the remaining space at 100 Barbirolli Square is high and we are confident that the building will be fully let by the end of the year.”
Works are set to commence on site in the coming weeks with the launch scheduled for early Q4 2024. Koba represented itself on the deal. Savills and OBI acted for the landlord.
