Work starts on £27.5m Manchester industrial
Developer Kier Property is aiming to have the first of its nine Cheetham Hill warehouses operational by early summer 2024.
When main contractor Triton Construction completes the Manchester Trade City project, the scheme will total 93,000 sq ft of industrial and trade counter space.
That 93,000 sq ft would be spread out across nine units of various sizes, from 3,800 sq ft to 23,600 sq ft. Trade City has been designed by architect Fletcher Rae to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating and an EPC score of A.
Kier and partner Investec estimate that the gross development value of the scheme is £27.5m.
Trade City will build on the 4.8-acre site’s industrial past. Situated off Elizabeth Street, the plot was a brickworks in the 18th century and later housed warehouses. When Kier and Investec purchased the site in February 2022, those warehouses had become derelict and have since been demolished to pave the way for Trade City.
Access to the site is from Cheetham Hill Road. Trade City will be within easy access to the Manchester & Salford Ring Road, Junction 3 of the M602, and Junction 17 of the M60.
Colliers and CBRE are the projects’ joint letting agents and there has already been attracting interest from potential occupiers, according to Kier managing director Leigh Thomas.
“We have received a lot of interest in the units, and we have a significant pre-let under offer to a market-leading occupier and progressing discussions with a number of other potential tenants,” he said.
John Sullivan, head of Colliers’ Manchester industrial and logistics team, added: “Trade City Manchester will provide much-needed Grade A industrial and trade space; it offers high-performing energy-efficient buildings.”
CBRE senior director Paul Cook described the project accordingly: “This scheme presents a rare opportunity to occupy high-quality units that benefit from all of the employee amenities a major city like Manchester has to offer.”
Planning for Trade City was granted in July by Manchester City Council. The project team included planning consultant Savills, landscape architect TPM, air quality expert BWB Consulting, and noise consultant AEC.
SWECO was the project’s transport consultant, while JCA was charged with ecology and arboriculture. CHBS was the energy and BREEAM consultant. Curtins was the flood risk and drainage expert, as well as the ground investigator.
The Manchester project is not the only Trade City around. Kier has delivered Trade Cities in Bracknell, Milton Keynes, and Whiteley – with another 275,000 sq ft Trade City planned for Knowsley Business Park.
The Manchester Trade City will be Kier’s 55th industrial project in the UK. The developer was also behind the Winsford Artis Park project, alongside Maple Grove Developments and Yorvale. The 124,500 sq ft Artis Park was sold for £22.8m last year to the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation.
Kier Property is the investment and development arm of Manchester-based Kier Group, which also has divisions dedicated to construction, property management, civil engineering, and utility service providing.
