Manchester restaurant shuts its doors after just six months

A student accommodation firm has decided to close a bar and restaurant in Manchester six months after it opened.

School for Scandal was on First Street, close to the Home arts and cinema complex.

The announcement is the latest in a series of bad news for the increasingly hard-pressed hospitality sector.

Casualties in recent months have included Manchester House, Artisan and the MAD group which owned a number of venues across the city.

School for Scandal moved into the site occupied by The Laundrette last summer.

The owners said the site was being taken over and extended into by student accommodation specialist Vita Student, who owns the building.

A statement posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page said: “The unavoidable decision has come following the landlord of the property Vita Student needing to utilise the space to extend its student proposition on First Street following increasing demand.

“We’d like to thank everyone who supported the site since it opened, the concept had created a loyal following and hopefully with our growing portfolio of buildings under construction we can find a new home for the concept in the future.”

A spokesperson for Vita Student said: “Due to difficult trading conditions we have taken the decision to close School for Scandal.

“It has been a great journey for the business, but commercially it was not sustainable.”

The site will now be turned into a private communal space for the student accommodation on First Street.