Catalyst Capital is to invest around £3 million to bring the city centre landmark at 22-26 Cross Street back to its former glory, providing 26,000 sq ft of high- quality office accommodation for Manchester’s thriving business community.
Located in a prominent position in Manchester’s traditional prime commercial core and within St Ann’s conservation area, 22-26 Cross Street is a 1930s-style building benefiting from an attractive Portland stone façade.
Catalyst Capital, which is best known in Manchester for its recent transformation of Ship Canal House on King Street, will refurbish the entire building to provide Grade ‘A’ office accommodation, whilst retaining the historic character of the building. Spread over eight floors, the office suites, which range in size from 2,151 sq ft to 3,263 sq ft, are currently unoccupied. The ground floor retail space is occupied by Sainsbury’s.
22-26 Cross Street is part of a portfolio of properties that has been acquired by Catalyst Capital and Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm, from Premier Property Group.
On the acquisition, Chris Cheap from GVA, commented: “It’s great news that Catalyst Capital has purchased another building in Manchester city centre. The quality product they created at Ship Canal House was second to none and it is this understanding of what occupiers want and their attention to detail that will make 22-26 Cross Street one of the best commercial addresses within the city.
“Following an extensive refurbishment programme, the building will provide floorplates from 2,151 sq ft to 3,263 sq ft, which can be split to accommodate smaller requirements if necessary.”
Sarah Cooper of Catalyst Capital, added: “We love working in Manchester. It is a vibrant city and we have learnt from our work experience with Ship Canal House that occupiers appreciate landlords going that extra mile in the creation of their office spaces. We are confident that the high quality finishes we have planned for Cross Street alongside innovative occupational solutions will really raise the bar for office accommodation in Manchester.
“Plans for the refurbishment are currently being worked up by 5Plus Architects, with work planned to commence later this month. We have scheduled a practical completion date for Autumn.”
GVA and OBI have been appointed as joint leasing advisors.
