On Friday 11 November 2011 the Hive hosted a North West Business Insider professional services breakfast.  Around 100 guests came along and enjoyed bacon butties provided by The Studio, to hear Mike Reeves, managing partner of Clearwater Corporate Finance talk about the changing face of professional services in light of the Legal Services Act.  This was followed by a lively panel discussion which included: David Partridge, joint chief executive, Argent; Jonathan Hurst, chairman for the northern region at KPMG and John Ashcroft, chief executive of Pro Manchester.  Read more about the event here.

On Thursday 13 October, as part of the Manchester Food and Drink Festival 2011, the Hive hosted a special preview evening for the new wine bar and deli store Bakerie.  The 100 specially invited guests sampled wines that will be available at the new bar and got a sneak taster of the specialty breads and dips which will be made on site on the Bakerie.

Manchester City Council has granted planning permission and license agreements to RWB Leisure Limited, to open Bakerie – a new wine bar at 45 Lever Street, and a unique tasting store on the ground floor of the Hive, Lever Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M1 1FN.

The two units are part of Argent’s The Hive, which recently won the British Council for Offices best commercial work place in the north award.  Bakerie will take 3000 sq ft on the ground floor of 45 Lever Street (a building owned by Argent) and 2000 sq ft on the ground floor of the Hive.

David Cook, RWB Leisure Limited said:  “The two units are perfect for Bakerie, a brand new offer for the Northern Quarter.  We’ll be stocking a wide range of quality wines, baking our own bread on site and everything you can buy in the wine bar, you’ll be able to buy in the tasting store.  We’re looking forward to opening the wine bar in the autumn and the tasting store in winter.”

Bakerie (planned opening autumn 2011 at 45 Lever Street)

Bakerie will be a new meeting place on Lever Street, serving carefully selected wines and traditional real ales together with freshly baked bread accompanied by lovely oil and balsamic dips.  There’ll also be a range of more hearty dishes including many suitable for people with special dietary requirements such as gluton/wheat free.

Kitted out with communal benches, Bakerie will feature an ever changing wall of media art and design, providing an interesting and family friendly (there’ll be a special menu for babies and toddlers) atmosphere to enjoy the great wines.

Opening hours will be: Sunday-Thursday 12pm until 11pm Friday & Saturday 12pm-12am.

Bakerie at the Hive (planned opening winter 2011 at Unit 1, the Hive, Lever Street)

Bakerie at the Hive will be home to a wide range of deli counters.  Customers will be able to sample and buy the great wines, breads, olives, oils & balsams, coffees & pastries.

Events at the store will include wine & bread school, tastings, book readings/signings, art previews and after parties.  Customers will be able to watch the bread being made every day at the store.

Opening hours will be:  Sunday- Thursday 12pm until 8pm Friday & Saturday 12pm-10pm.

Angela Fielding, Argent said:  “We’re looking forward to welcoming Bakerie to the Hive, we are sure their offer of great wine, freshly baked breads and foods will be a great asset, not only for the building but for the Northern Quarter too.”

Completed last year, the Hive on Lever Street is the only Grade A office building in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.  Tenants include the Arts Council and the Studio – versatile space for meetings, launch events, conferences, training days and parties.

The office space at the Hive is flexible to meet all requirements and is available from 1,000 sq ft to 40,000 sq ft.  The building also benefits from a natural ventilation system which ensures it is one of the greenest and most cost effective buildings in Manchester.

We’re pleased to announce the Hive has won the prestigious British Council for Offices (BCO) best commercial workplace award for the northern region.  The Hive is the only Grade A office space in Manchester’s thriving Northern Quarter and we’ve got space available to rent ranging from 1,000 sq ft to 45,000 sq ft.

The BCO is the latest award for the Hive, our other awards include The Northwest Business Environment Award 2010 for the Built Environment; A Gold Award from the Environmental Business Pledge and a special award from the Government for the buildings sustainable credentials.

This three-storey building was originally assessed under BREEAM in 2006 as a speculative development. The parts of the building occupied by the Arts Council were assessed again under the current BREEAM 2008 to ensure an even higher standard of sustainability. The building includes air source heat pumps, facilities for cyclists, energy efficient lighting and allocated space for recycling. Architect on the project was Witherford Watson Mann, and contractor was Jackson Coles. Assessor was Sustainable Construction Services.

Sam Rowbury, director of the Centre for Expertise for Sustainable Procurement, Cabinet Office, said: “I am delighted to present this award to Arts Council England for their contributions to the sustainability of the Hive building and for raising the standard of sustainable building design and operation in the government estate”. www.building4change.com

For the next two weeks, The Northern Potters Association will be based at the ground floor of The Hive.

Visit  www.northern-potters.co.uk

We are pleased to present our new website, developed by local web agency Cahoona. Please click the logo in the top left to reveal images of the building.

The Hive Launch. This Thursday 7th October, 6pm.  Featuring performances from Mr Scruff and The Travelling Band.

Also take a chance to ‘Breathe’ alongside Manchester Camerata who will be performing a piece of music written for the Hive. Come along, we’d love to see you there.