Cocktail bar mooted for Sunlight House

The first ever Schofield’s Bar, a venture from mixologist brothers Daniel and Joe Schofield, is proposed to occupy part of the ground floor of the grade two-listed building on Manchester’s Quay Street. 

Under a planning application submitted by Aberdeen Standard Investments, which owns the 14-storey Sunlight House, the bar would be located in a vacant 1,000 sq ft unit currently designated for retail, at the corner of Little Quay Street and Atkinson Street. 

Plans to change the unit’s use from retail to leisure, to open it up to different types of occupier, have been in the pipeline for some time. In January 2019, permission was granted for a restaurant, but as Schofield’s Bar would serve alcohol, a fresh planning application was needed to progress the scheme. 

Yukka Design, the architect for the project, would also need to submit an application for listed building consent, in order to undertake internal fit out. 

The bar, which would serve breakfast and British-style tapas as well as cocktails, is expected to open this year, according to the bar’s website. 

A statement to accompany the application from the scheme’s planning consultant Savills, said: “Schofield’s vision is to create one of the world’s best cafe bars in Manchester.

“Aiming to locate itself in the heart of Manchester, close to Deansgate and King Street, as this is where the majority of the target demographic is dining and drinking.” 

Sunlight House underwent a £4m refurbishment in 2018, delivered by ADT Workplace and Ardmac, before being put on the market for £54m. However, Aberdeen Standard Investments subsequently decided not to sell. 

Other tenants in the building include a Bannatyne health club, private investment house St James’s Place Wealth Management, and Rentalcars, which together occupy around 63,000 sq ft over three floors.