SLR opens new Manchester office
SLR Consulting has moved into a new Manchester office based in Dale Street in the Northern Quarter, thanks to a healthy portfolio of work in the north west and growth across all aspects of environmental and sustainability services.
With over 2,000 employees, serving clients across more than 20 countries globally, SLR Consulting is a global sustainability consultancy headquartered in the UK. Since receiving new backing from financial investor Ares Capital Management, the firm has been rapidly upscaling its capacity via recruitment campaigns, and a stream of acquisitions.
Now,SLR has continued to ramp up its capacity, with the launch of a new office in the north west of England. The Manchester hub will have space for more than 100 staff, and consolidate the firm’s multiple teams across the city into a single location.
The move will also see SLR consolidate its Optimised Environments (OPEN) team into the base, and Vectos – a transport planning and infrastructure design consultancy which merged into SLR in 2021 – helping to further support clients in the region. These include the Red Bank masterplan, the £400 million mixed-use scheme at First Street, and several regeneration projects for Manchester City Council.
Jaimie Ferguson, director at OPEN, noted, “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.”
Alongside this consolidation, the office based in Dale Street, in Manchester’s northern quarter, will allow SLR to grow its team across its suite of 35 technical services. Originally built in 1903 as the head office for the textile giant Richard Howarth & Co, the Grade II listed space at 35 Dale Street has been reimagined into offices, with SLR taking the entire top floor of 7,500 square feet.
Speaking on the hub, Adam Smith, transport planning director at SLR, added, “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.”
The thriving technology scene of the north west continues to attract consulting firms to Manchester, looking to make the most of the market. Recently, FTI Consulting and MI-GSO | PCUBED both expanded into the city, while has also moved its Manchester team into a new office there.
