Bam wins £65m Manchester office job

Bam Construct has been appointed as contractor for a 12,000 square metre office building in Manchester for relocated civil servants.

The company has agreed terms for Plot 9a at Manchester’s First Street site with lead developer Ask Real Estate, which is taking the project forward with its joint venture partner, The Richardson Family.

Pension Insurance Corporation, a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has invested £105m to forward-fund the £65m project.

When Bam entered final talks for the contract in June, the then-government efficiency minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the building would be “one of the largest hubs for cross-government collaboration and operation outside London”, with staff from at least four departments.

The move is part of a wider government initiative to move civil servants out of London. The Government Property Agency has signed a 25-year lease for the whole building, which is set for completion in 2024 and will accommodate around 2,500 staff.

This will include around 700 roles currently based in London. It is claimed that the relocation will generate £31m in economic benefits.

When complete, the building will be net-zero in operation, with a BREEAM minimum rating of Excellent.

Bam said that over the past five years it had worked with Ask on schemes with a combined contract value of more than £137m in Manchester, Salford and the North East.

Bam Construct North West regional director Ian Fleming said that early involvement between developer and contractor was “the Holy Grail” that “enables gold-standard collaboration”.

“That’s our experience of working with Ask – it means our ability to enhance the sustainability and social value of how we work and what a scheme can achieve is improved.”

Ask managing director John Hughes said Bam had “become a trusted contractor partner for us and this appointment continues our positive relationship”.