Intelligent Conversation invests £100k in new Northern Quarter base

PR firm Intelligent Conversation has marked its seventh year in business with a move to new offices in The Hive, Manchester.

The company has snapped up 1,800 sq ft at the Northern Quarter site on a five-year lease, relocating its 11-strong team from nearby Piccadilly Gardens after ploughing £100k into the new space.

The Hive office will allow Intelligent Conversation to accommodate its growing team, with two senior consultants having joined the firm last autumn and another two senior members of staff joining next month.

Libby Howard, the company’s managing director, said: “This is a landmark move for the business and a confident statement in our future.

“We have invested £100k to convert an empty shell at The Hive into a five-star working environment that is designed to cope with future expansion.”

She continued: “We looked at a number of different offices but the Hive was the only one to combine the highest quality of office space with a convenient city centre location - important for both our team and our clients.”

The six-week project to revamp Intelligent Conversation’s new offices was carried out by Manchester-based Select Interiors, which used a mix of reclaimed and new materials to turn the empty space into an open-plan work environment with meeting rooms and break areas.

Select Interiors’ managing director, Carl Brown, said of the brief: “Intelligent Conversation had a clear vision for this project.

“They wanted to create a five-star working environment for their team and for clients and we have absolutely achieved that.”

Founded in 2009, today Intelligent Conversation has a fee income of more than £1m.

Ric Tsang, an asset manager with The Hive’s owner, Kames Capital, commented: “The Hive is the stand out building of the Northern Quarter and Intelligent Conversation are an ideal tenant for such an innovative building.”