CIS Tower up for sale
Manchester’s iconic CIS Tower is up for sale, with Colliers International and JLL instructed to run the sale process, Place North West understands. The marketing of the building has been run in a restricted manner, with just a handful of potential buyers being invited in.
Best bids have now been submitted, with the process of selecting a buyer ongoing. The sale price is understood to be upward of £50m.
The grade two-listed building, at the centre of the NOMA estate, is fully occupied at present by various parts of the Co-operative Group – it is understood that seven or eight years remain on the overarching lease.
The building was completed in 1962, at which time it was the third tallest in Europe, and stands at 118m. The net internal area is listed on the NOMA website as 361,700 sq ft, with gross internal area at 487,185 sq ft.
All parties involved in the process declined to comment.
A Manchester investment agent said: “It’s an iconic building, but not an easy one to trade. On the one hand, it’s the sort of asset that deserves to be openly traded, but the reality is you’d get crowding in to look round what’s a complicated building, and whoever’s working on it wouldn’t be able to do anything else for six weeks. I’d suggest that even once it’s under offer, that might not even be halfway there – there could be a lot of technical due diligence.”
Another agent said: “It’s hard to put a value on it, given the lack of trading history. Are they looking at adding in new uses a few years down the line, a hotel maybe?”
Iconic?
By Joe
It is a great tower. It hasn’t dated at all. I too,do not know what it’s use could be. There will soon be a cluster in that area,so it is ripe for being converted to an hotel. It could be flats,but I do not know the interior. I love the CIS. It reminds me,and don’t laugh,of the United Nations building. I hope it gets a sensitive and worthy conversion.
By Elephant
Its very, very 60s. Of course it has dated. Not saying this is necessarily a bad thing.
By Rooney
is that the one they put the solar type panels on that didn’t work very well?
By Bob Dawson
Shall we say then that is a bit like Joanna Lumley. It s still easy on the eye.
By Elephant
Still the best tall building in Manchester.
By Gene Walker
It’s a great tower and took a fantastically long period between commencement of construction and final completion
By ashtoncol