Amazon to open office in historic Manchester building creating at least 600 jobs

A historic Manchester building is to be home to the first non-London office of retail giant Amazon.

The six-storey Hanover Building on the corner of Corporation Street and Hanover Street opposite Victoria Station will house teams working on projects such as software development, machine learning and R&D and will create at least 600 jobs in the city.

Hanover is the earliest surviving commercial warehouse built by the in-house architecture department of the Co-operative Wholesale Society – now part of the Co-operative Group – which started in Manchester in 1863.

The Hanover Building boasts an impressive history, as it incorporates what was the former Co-operative Wholesale Society drapery warehouse, also known as ‘E Block’ – with Hanover added in 1909 to create offices and additional warehouse space.

Recent developments have seen it become a key part of the 20-acre NOMA development.

Amazon already has had an impact on the city having brought two new fulfilment centres in Manchester and also opening an Amazon Academy last year welcoming hundreds of small businesses.

The new corporate office will further seal Manchester’s reputation as a city for business growth and development, following on from recent ONS figures highlighting that there are 23,845 businesses now operating here – a 58% rise from 2014.

“Amazon opening their new office in Manchester is another vote of confidence in our city-region as a global digital leader,” said Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.