A home from home. That’s what Patrick Properties set out to achieve when repurposing 60,000 sq ft of office space in Altrincham – which now includes its very own California Coffee coffee shop.
The 60,000 sq ft office campus next door to the Cresta Court hotel was acquired in 2016 by Altrincham firm Patrick Properties, owned by successful entrepreneur and former Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy.
By 2021, after the disruption of Covid and a shift in people's working habits, the site was left with 50,000 sq ft of vacant space.
Patrick Properties knew it had to respond - and duly did with a full strip out and complete refurbishment of the entire campus.
The results are spectacular.
Gone is the mundane office block with dull walls and well-worn carpets.
In its place is a collection of office suites that could easily double for a boutique hotel, with interiors crafted from the same design team that Cristiano Ronaldo chose for his home renovation when he returned to Manchester in 2021.
But what lifts these workspaces – Lynnfield House and Hamilton House, collectively known as Two Four Nine – way above your typical place of work, are the extras.
Whether it’s the on-site high performance facility with full-time personal trainers, the beehive producing own-brand honey, the spa-like showering and changing facilities, or the 24-hour access, Two Four Nine feels like an office space built for the post-Covid worker.
And now, in what amounts to the first roll-out of the much-loved Altrincham café bar California Coffee, a brand new California Express has just opened in the central reception.
As Asset Manager at Patrick Properties, Harry Sheil runs the Two Four Nine site on a daily basis.
“Workers’ expectations of a work/life balance changed after Covid," he told us. "With the office market in a difficult place, we knew a full refurbishment was required, so we stripped it back to brick and started again.
“Community and well-being acted as fundamental pillars throughout the refurb. The front lawn, coffee shop and business lounges provide areas for collaboration and socialising, while the state-of-the art gym and bike stores encourage a healthier start to the day.
“It doesn’t just look and feel good, we tick the environmental boxes too, with EV chargers, 354 solar panels, and even our own honey-producing bee-hives.”
He added: “Connectivity is crucial too - we're just a six-minute walk from the Altrincham interchange, meaning you can be in the city centre in under 30 minutes. Alternatively, we are well served with 200 onsite parking bays.”
The Patrick Properties revamp has thus far proved to be wildly popular.
Lynnfield House, the first to be completed, is 97% let through a partnership with Regus, the world’s largest flexible workspace company.
Such figures mean that Two Four Nine is Regus’ best performing asset outside of London.
Around 60 companies are based here now, taking anything from monthly single desks to much larger spaces on long-term deals. Computer giant Dell and Ordo, the fast-growing electrical toothbrush brand, are among the tenants.
Over at Hamilton House, where the fit-out is almost complete, there are a further five companies, including Brian Kennedy’s Latium head office, one of the largest private equity houses in the North West, and Patrick Properties themselves.
Following recent deals with Mint Property Finance, AAK Natural Emulsifiers and Finbogo, only 9,000 sq ft remains with talks to expand the sites co-working provision into a proportion of this space.
The young team at Patrick Properties are extremely proud of their prized asset just a few hundred yards from Altrincham Market.
“Hands-on” is the phrase that Harry uses, pointing out that they will be regulars in the new coffee shop and are already heavy users of the on-site gym.
“We’re onsite every day,” he says. “It’s got to be up to our standards. We’re fully immersed in it.” California Express is a real coup for Two Four Nine and came after a period of negotiation with Justin and Diana Orozco, the husband and wife team behind both California Coffee and West Beverly.
“They are perfect for us,” says Harry.
“They saw the vision and how their California Express model would work, and for us it’s the perfect partnership. When you go into California Coffee and West Beverly there’s always Justin or Diana to lighten your mood. We wanted that, and it’ll add to the overall campus feel of Two Four Nine.”
Justin himself is “nervous but excited” to be extending the California brand for the first time, and has installed a permanent manager on site after promoting a member of staff internally.
“We can’t wait to be part of Two Four Nine,” Justin told us. “It’s a great fit for us and we will adapt our offer to whatever the customers there want.”
It’s a vital part of what Harry calls the “2024 office reimagined”.
“We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure this is the best office campus offering in Altrincham.”
