An historic chapel once used by hit making trio Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) is to become the headquarters of a newly demergered Manchester law firm.
Pannone Corporate — formed earlier this year following the £33m sale of Pannone’s private client business and some of its commercial teams to Australian legal group Slater & Gordon — has confirmed it is taking a 10-year lease on the Grade II listed Castlefield Chapel in the city’s Deansgate.
Originally designed and built in 1858 by prominent Victorian architect Edward Walters, it was bought in the early 1980s by record producer Pete Waterman who converted the basement to a studio where he and his partners Mike Stock and Matt Aitken recorded scores of hits records.
Waterman sold 378 Deansgate in 2006 to Bluetree Estates which went into administration five years later. After lying empty for several years the M20 Group, led by Peter Quinn, bought the site earlier this year and has carried out a full refurbishment.
Pannone Corporate’s managing partner, Paul Jonson, said his firm would be taking the entire 12,000 sq ft of the upgraded building and would be transferring his business from its current Lincoln House offices by the end of January.
“Castlefield Chapel is a landmark building that has a long and proud history in Manchester,” he said. “We considered several other options but decided that the chapel best fitted our needs and identity. It will be a great environment for clients to visit and for our staff to work in.”
Since its February launch Pannone has attracted several new global clients. “We have made a great start and the move into our new premises will be the culmination of an exceptional first year for Pannone Corporate,” Jonson added.
“These are exciting times for the firm. We have recently invested in a new IT system to help deliver a different service to our clients and have a number of other exciting projects in the pipeline.”
The letting agent for the Deansgate building was OBI Property. “It is great to see an exciting new firm match its ethos and culture with a complimentary style of building,” commented the firm’s Will Lewis. “I’m positive this move will impress clients, support the new brand and offer the existing team a fantastic working environment.”
Since taking over Pannone’s consumer division, Slater & Gordon has leased more than 100,000 sq ft of the former Cobbetts office in Mosley Street to accommodate its staff and the 400 it inherited from the demerger.
Stock Aitkin Waterman was a song writing and record producing trio which enjoyed huge success in the late 80s and early 90s.
Among the dozen or so UK chart toppers emerging from the SAW production line were hits by Dead or Alive, Rick Astley, Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue (pictured).
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