Footballer buys Manchester office for around £3m 

A company headed up by former Crystal Palace and Birmingham defender Scott Dann has acquired Northstar on Oldham Street, which is being readied for the arrival of internet and full-fibre service provider Telcom Group. 

Telcom will occupy the entirety of Northstar, located in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, having signed a 15-year lease on the 11,514 sq ft property earlier this year. 

The deal, the largest in Manchester in the first quarter of the year, will see Telcom relocate from Hilton House, where it currently occupies one floor. 

Read more about Manchester’s office take-up in Q1

Developed by Bywater Properties and designed by Sheila Bird Studio, Northstar has now been sold for £3m to Open Door Developments, headed up by Reading player Dann. 

Sheila Bird has been retained to design Telcom’s fit-out. 

Edwards & Co and Sixteen Real Estate advised on the letting and the sale of the building. 

“This move solidifies our position as a fast-moving business, committed to significant further growth over the next decade,” said Shaun Gibson, chief executive of Telcom Group. 

“Last year, we secured £63.5m in our Series A fundraise, which has enabled us to expand nationwide but with a special emphasis on the North of England where we will be building large scale fibre networks across Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham.” 

Gibson added: “Our new HQ is situated in an area of Manchester where we have already successfully installed our exceptional full-fibre infrastructure meaning that we are confident that the digital infrastructure is in place to support our future growth. Connectivity and the ability to access it is at the very core of our business.” 

Telcom Group is in the process of deploying over 2,000km of new fibre network infrastructure to support fibre rollout to over 250,000 homes and 125,000 businesses over the next two to three years.