The consultancy has signed a five-year lease on 7,700 sq ft at XLB Property’s 35 Dale Street in Manchester. 

SLR Consulting’s new home will provide space for more than 100 staff and consolidate the firm’s multiple locations in the city into a single hub for teams from SLR and Optimised Environments, which it acquired in 2022. 

Jaimie Ferguson, director at OPEN, said: “Since becoming part of SLR, we have combined our collective skills, creating a team with remarkable creativity and design qualities that complement already strong technical and environmental abilities. 

“This new office marks the next stage in our integration, and we believe it will allow us to increase our sharing of knowledge and expertise, which can only benefit our clients.” 

SLR’s current projects include FEC’s Red Bank masterplan, the £400m First Street mixed-use scheme, and New Carrington in Trafford. 

Adam Smith, transport planning director at SLR, hopes the move to the Northern Quarter will pave the way for even closer working relationships between the company’s departments. 

He said: “Our transport planning and infrastructure design teams already work closely with OPEN and other SLR environmental specialists, but bringing together the teams into one collaborative space will not only mean more integration and information sharing, but will reflect the breadth of what we can offer to clients, driving better quality. 

“In addition, we want to grow the SLR team across our full suite of over 35 technical services, and the set up at 35 Dale Street is perfectly suited for that planned expansion.” 

35 Dale Street, which XLB acquired in 2020, is now 95% let. Other tenants include Faith in Nature and Couchbase. 

Stephen Wormald, partner at XLB said: “We are delighted to welcome SLR to 35 Dale Street. It’s been a pleasure to facilitate the consolidation and expansion of their two Manchester offices.  

“Having a shared ESG vision made it a natural fit and we believe that this partnership will foster innovation and contribute to the continued success of both SLR and 35 Dale Street.”