BPP University eyes Manchester expansion 

The education provider wants to increase its footprint in Bruntwood’ Scitech’s St James’ Buildings to 49,000 sq ft. 

BPP University, which provides courses in law, business, and accountancy, is looking to increase in size by 9,000 sq ft, taking part of the Oxford Street building’s fifth floor. 

Bruntwood has applied to Manchester City Council for permission to use a slug of offices as teaching space. 

The move would see BPP increase its presence within the building from 40,000 sq ft to almost 50,000 sq ft, providing space for an additional 180 students following the addition of a nursing course to its programme. 

BPP has occupied space within the building for more than 20 years, according to a planning statement prepared by Paul Butler Associates. 

“[BPP’s] expansion at St James’ Buildings provides clear operational and functional benefits for as opposed to them being spread across different locations or having to relocate from Manchester to another location to meet the business requirements”, the statement adds. 

A spokesperson for Bruntwood SciTech said: “Bruntwood SciTech proactively works in partnership with our customers to support their evolving requirements. In this instance, we’re supporting one customer in their transition through our flexible workspace solutions and another with their continued success working in the knowledge economy.

“St James’ is one of our flagship city centre innovation hubs in Manchester, based within the Oxford Road Corridor innovation district, and this is an exciting opportunity for our customers to collaborate across industries and academia to strengthen the city’s innovation ecosystem.”

St James’ Buildings was one of 29 city centre assets transferred to Bruntwood SciTech as part of the £500m equity raise that completed recently. 

Now part of the SciTech portfolio, the intention is to reposition the city centre offices as innovation hubs.