Manchester seals strategic Wythenshawe office deal in nick of time 

Manchester City Council had to act quickly to acquire Brotherton House and prevent efforts to regenerate the area from being undermined.

The authority had been in talks with Lloyds Banking Group, which most recently occupied the building, about acquiring the leasehold interest in the vacant building off Cornfield Drive for several months.

Lloyds threatened to walk away from the deal if it could not be concluded by 15 November, prompting the council to mobilise quickly to push the deal over the line, according to publicly available reports.

The council was fearful that if the deal fell through, the site would be put on the market and potentially sold to a third party “not aligned” with the overarching vision for Wythenshawe.

Wythenshawe is due to undergo a significant regeneration in the coming years, with Muse appointed as development partner for the district centre, which Manchester City Council acquired from St Modwen in 2022.

Brotherton House forms part of the regeneration proposals in the form of a “land swap” with “the dominant local Registered Provider”, understood to be Wythenshawe Housing Group, reports state.

A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: “The council has acquired a vacant commercial premises adjacent to the Wythenshawe Civic Centre and we will work closely with our joint venture partner Muse to bring forward new residential opportunities as part of an overall target for the regeneration programme to deliver more than 2,000 new mixed tenure homes.”