If you want to see a city where investment in real estate is powering a fast-changing skyline, you don’t need to look further than Manchester.

Scattered outwards from the gothic revival Town Hall and adjacent 1930s Central Library, you’ll find an ever-growing collection of high rises offering stylish apartments and offices often alongside luxe hotels, restaurants and bars – all of which are drawing the world’s major brands and businesses to the heart of the north.

The latest addition to this portfolio is St Michael’s, a £400m world-class destination for work, rest and play; a scheme that comprises seven floors of ‘super prime’ office space plus three iconic food and beverage outlets – as well as a 43-storey tower that will play host to W Hotel and W Residences.

Rent record hat-trick

With the doors now open for business, No.1 St Michael’s has been a huge success, not just for us at Relentless but for the world of commercial development in Manchester. It’s the first speculative office building of this scale to be fully let prior to practical completion in the city in 15 years. All six office tenants and the F&B operators were signed before work completed, which prompted a new headline rent for the city on no less than three occasions.

“It’s major programmes of redevelopment like St Michael’s that maintain key investor confidence in Manchester as a great place to do business, that create significant employment opportunities for our residents and supports our ongoing economic growth ambitions.”

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council

All six office tenants are now in occupation in this beautifully-restored building, which used to serve as the city’s former police headquarters. We were thrilled to welcome Channel 4, international law firms Pinsent Masons and Hill Dickinson, global computing firm Arm, premium serviced office provider Gilbanks and publicly-trading company S&P Global Inc to No.1.

Alongside these major global businesses, we’ve seen three F&B brands open their first UK venues outside London at No.1 St Michael’s, with Circolo Populare from Paris-based Big Mamma Group closely followed by cult coffee brand, Grind and Japanese-Peruvian restaurant group, Chotto Matte taking the rooftop space.

These venues are now busy drawing in drinkers and diners from across the city and beyond but for the employees exclusively, the building also benefits from a rooftop boardroom and seated terrace, executive meeting suites, luxury changing facilities and a cycle hub for 184 bikes.

And fortunately there’s more to come. No.2 St Michael’s will provide an additional 75,000 sq ft of premium office space in the scheme’s 43-storey tower, alongside the 162-room W Hotel and 217 W Residences – the latter setting a new residential sales record for Manchester, with 98% of homes sold in less than six months.

From pitch to property

Fans of real estate and fans of football will perhaps be equally inspired to discover this groundbreaking mixed-use development is the brainchild of former Manchester United and England footballer (not to mention my friend and co-founder), Gary Neville. Together with the support of partners including KKR, Salboy and Manchester City Council, as well as our incredibly hard working Relentless Developments team, we were able to realise a long-standing ambition to transform this hugely central yet massively underused part of the city into a thriving urban quarter for living, working and socialising.

“St Michael’s is an extraordinary scheme that was no less than 15 years in the making. We’ve worked so hard to create a development that is distinctive in both its imaginative design and heritage as well as its location connecting the city’s business district with the historic civic quarter. Seeing No.1 in full operation and alive with our tenants is the ultimate validation and I’d like to thank them for trusting us to create a new benchmark for quality and experience here in Manchester.”

Gary Neville

The scheme is set to be the first of many in Manchester for us at Relentless, following projects including Hotel Football and Stock Exchange Hotel. We are already actively exploring opportunities to build on the success of St Michael’s – drawing on our reputation for creating modern, future-facing workspace to fulfil the city’s commercial ambition while also preserving the architecture and heritage of its historically-significant buildings.

Meanwhile, St Michael’s moves from long-held vision to fully-realised destination and stands as a powerful symbol of Manchester’s momentum – a city confidently shaping its future while respecting its past. With global brands in occupation, international hospitality arriving in the city and further phases already lined up, the scheme is not just a landmark development but a statement of intent, and a catalyst for progress. For investors, occupiers and the city itself, St Michael’s proves Manchester is at the top of the real estate game – and showing no signs of slowing down.”

About the author: Property expert and chartered surveyor, Anthony Kilbride, is CEO of Relentless Developments.