Manchester’s CIS Tower to become £150m ‘vertical district’ 

Castlebrooke Investments’ refurbishment project will see the 425,000 sq ft building split into three distinct parts and rebranded as Society. 

Society will offer “all the facilities of a HQ environment with flexible workspaces, meeting rooms, conference suites and the convenience of on-site amenities”, according to Castlebrooke. 

Once complete, the CIS Tower will be split into three zones: 

• Tower – 143,527 sq ft of workspace across 26 floors 
• Podium – 207,379 sq ft of the “largest and most flexible office floorplates in Manchester” 
• Street – food and beverage, retail, and leisure amenities at street level 

“The tower has been at the forefront of innovation in Manchester city centre since it was first erected in the 1960s,” said a spokesperson from Castlebrooke.  

“Our redevelopment strategy continues this forward-thinking tradition, reimagining the building to form a vertical district that will attract distinct user types to its three component parts as the way we work and live in the city evolves.” 

Castlebrooke bought the 28-storey CIS Tower in Manchester’s 20-acre NOMA district for £66m in 2017. In 2019, Trafford Council approved a £60m loan for the refurbishment of the grade two-listed building.

At the beginning of the pandemic, plans to revamp the tower were approved by Manchester City Council. 

That project, designed by SimpsonHaugh Architects, has now been reimagined post-Covid.

Built in the 1960s as Manchester’s first skyscraper, the tower was previously occupied by Cooperative Insurance. However, the building is now vacant. 

Colliers International has been appointed as sole letting agent for Society

“Society is a celebration of all Manchester was, is and can be,” said Michael Hawkins, director and head of national offices agency at Colliers. 

“Castlebrooke’s redevelopment and rebranding will position the building to cater for current and future occupier requirements, creating an environment that meets the diverse needs of Manchester’s ever-evolving business community.”  

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Society complements the established neighbourhood of vibrant communities in this part of the city and marks an exciting new era for the building and a creative re-imagining of an established working environment, which Manchester’s business community will no doubt embrace.”