A Manchester-based property developer, founded in 1993, known for turning old and unloved buildings into homes and workspaces across northern England and beyond.
Urban Splash is a property developer and regenerator. Its approach is to take disused buildings, such as mills, warehouses, tower blocks and factories, and turn them into homes and workspaces. The company says that in its first 30 years it delivered over 6,000 homes and 2 million square feet of workspace, and won more than 475 awards. Well-known schemes include Park Hill in Sheffield, Royal William Yard in Plymouth, New Islington in Manchester, Fort Dunlop and Port Loop in Birmingham, and Campbell Park in Milton Keynes. More recent projects include Cole Brothers in Sheffield and a new neighbourhood in Cumbria.
The company was founded in 1993 by Tom Bloxham, who is its chair, and the architect Jonathan Falkingham. It grew out of the Manchester and Liverpool scene of the early 1990s, with loft apartments in old buildings and arts venues such as Concert Square in Liverpool. In a 2023 blog post, Mr Bloxham said the company takes its mission from ancient Athens: "We will leave this place not less, but greater, better and more beautiful than it was left to us." He lists its values as good design, flexibility and collaboration, plus agility, learned in part from the 2008 banking crisis, when the company shifted for a time to renting out homes.
Urban Splash is based in Manchester, with a head office at Timber Wharf in Castlefield. Its website lists locations including Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Salford, Sheffield, Swansea and the Lake District, although it does not make clear whether these are offices or project sites. The company's plans for the following five years included about 4,500 homes and 500,000 square feet of commercial space, from Plymouth to the Lake District.
On culture, the company describes itself as a flexible employer with a working culture that empowers its staff and invests in their development. It says former employees often start their own businesses, many of which join its supply chain. In its 30th anniversary film, a member of its marketing team said the future is "a shared project", and the company said it wanted "innovators, disruptors and creative thinkers". These are the company's own words. The in-house marketing and design flair is a noticeable part of how it presents itself.
A developer like this employs many kinds of people: development managers, architects and designers working closely with the team, planners, construction and project managers, sales and lettings staff, asset managers, finance, marketing and communications. Subjects such as geography, design, architecture, business, economics and surveying all lead here, as does a good eye for places. The company website lists current openings, and its newsletter, Newsplash, shows the kind of projects it is working on.
Website: www.urbansplash.co.uk
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