The first letting at The Waterside development in Worcester has been secured to a partner of IT giant IBM.

Ascendant Europe has taken 3,560 sq ft in Slip House, part of a mixed use scheme developed by Berkeley Group on the former Royal Worcester Porcelain site which fronts the Worcester/Birmingham canal and Diglis Basin area.

The deal - brokered by joint agents Knight Frank and Halls Commercial - will see more than half of the newly refurbished historic building let which was originally designed by Robert Armstrong in the 1850s and was where the “slip” – a clay mixture used to make porcelain pieces – was made.

Andrew Saunders-Davis, chairman of Berkeley Group, said: “We are committed to delivering a high quality scheme which not only breathes new life into this part of the city, but adds to Worcester’s overall offer as a vibrant and appealing place to live and work.

“This promise has already appealed to residential purchasers and now as we launch our commercial offer, it has the same appeal to office occupiers keen to be part of Worcester’s future.”

Paul Collins, CTO for Ascendant Europe, said: “Identifying the “right” new office accommodation for our business has been of prime importance – we were looking for offices that would reflect our company ethos, motivate our staff and create the right impression for clients and peers.

“We viewed numerous properties but nothing came close to offering us such a spectacular base in terms of physical accommodation in combination with an exciting wider working environment.”

Henry Harrison from Knight Frank, added: “This letting is a milestone for the wider Worcester Waterside project and marks a new phase in the scheme’s lifecycle.

“Ascendant’s reasons for relocating their regional headquarters to The Waterside demonstrate the requirement for high quality office accommodation in Worcester and underline occupier confidence in the M5 corridor as an excellent place to locate and do business.”

On completion of the phased development programme, there will be approximately 65,000 sq ft of office accommodation at The Waterside.