Student property developer Vita to build new food hall at First Street in Manchester

Property developer Vita is to build a new food hall at First Street in Manchester, and has hired Jake Atkinson, the operations manager of Mackie Mayor and Altrincham Market to run House of Social, which will open in the summer of 2025.

Best known for high-end student accommodation and for its ownership of Stockport County Football Club, Vita was founded by Mark Stott in 2012 and has four brands—Vita Student, Uhaus, Union and House of Social.

The four brands span 28 locations in 13 cities and often serve a diverse community of residents from over 100 countries.

The new project, House of Social, a collection of independent kitchens, will open in the First Street area of Manchester, close to cultural hotspot HOME, later this year featuring will span 12,000 square feet of brand new dining and drinking space, over two design-led levels, and with individual operators running their own kitchens.

Atkinson, who also developed the Picturedome in Macclesfield as well as Mackie Mayor and Altrincham Market, House of Social, said: “It’s such an untapped location, we’ve got this beautiful building with loads of natural light from soaring arched windows and also some gorgeous interior details with that curving staircase – it’s going to have so much character.”

The new collective of operators, will include “much loved regional brands” as well as “a cult London outfit” soon to be announced.

Atkinson added: “We’ve tried to match that with the traders we’re working with – we’ve got some big names and some big personalities coming along – they’re creating menus which work in a food hall setting but with so much more attention to detail than anything I’ve seen before in this space. The offerings will really complement each other but I also think the traders are going to gel well too. I just can’t wait to get started.”