Aparthotel secured for Gateway House

LaSalle Investment Management is understood to be in advanced talks with serviced apartment operator Staycity to occupy Gateway House, the S-shaped building on Piccadilly Station approach in Manchester.

The building currently functions mainly as a retail parade on the way to the train station, with 16 retail units at ground level. Waitrose is currently fitting out a store there, at 12-15 Piccadilly Approach, which is due to open in October. Gateway House is a 140,000 sq ft modernist office block designed by architect Richard Seifert & Partners and completed in 1969. The upper office floors are empty.

LaSalle bought Gateway House from Yousef Tishbi's Realty Estates in June for £26m. Tishbi bought it for £8m in 2008. Realty Estates gained planning permission to convert the block into a hotel in 2011, and agreed a deal with London-based Max Serviced Apartments in 2012 to create a 182-bed apart-hotel but the scheme stalled.

Savills is acting as retail agent on behalf of LaSalle.

All parties declined or were unavailable to comment.