Developer buys Manchester College site for possible hotel development
Developer and property manager CERT is buying the 97,000 sqft Shena Simon Campus from The Manchester College, in collaboration with its partner, The Family Office of MyProtein & Verve Founder, Oliver Cookson.
It closes in September 2025, with The Manchester College moving its educational services to a brand new facility for students, in a new four storey building next door to City Campus Manchester.
Located on Chorlton Street, and next to Canal Street, and close to Manchester Piccadilly Station, and the planned Sister science and technology innovation district, that intends to add two million sqft of workspace, leisure spaces, and nine acres of public space over the next 15 years.
The vision for the building is also to bring a new hotel to this part of the city, to support the area’s ongoing growth. Discussions are underway with a leading, global hotel operator. The proposals for the redevelopment of the campus will be submitted by CERT’s design team this Spring.
“Howard Lord, CERT’s Managing Director comments: “The Shena Simon Campus builds on our dedication to restoring heritage properties, and matching them to serve their neighbourhoods with a new purpose; just as we did with Duke & Parr in Liverpool.
This time we’re taking our capabilities into hospitality, with an incredible hotel brand that will compliment this beautiful old building and its surroundings.”
The Family Office of Oliver Cookson is working with CERT on Peeler’s Yard, an 81 unit residential scheme in New Cross. It has since secured planning on a 99 unit residential development on Cross Keys Street, which gained planning consent last year.
Oliver Cookson comments: “Manchester is where I grew up — it shaped my outlook and gave me the foundations to build from. This city has always been about reinvention, and the Shena Simon Campus is the perfect place to keep that spirit alive. With CERT, we’re not just restoring a building – we’re reimagining its role in Manchester’s future. We’re turning a landmark into a destination, blending heritage with ambition. It means a lot to give something back to the city that gave me my start.”
John Thornhill, LTE Group CEO, commented: “For over a century Shena Simon has been a place of learning where people from across the city have been able to access education and gain the skills that have been so vital to Manchester’s economic success. However, it no longer offered the cutting-edge facilities required to equip learners with the skills they’ll need in 2025 to access the economic opportunities that exist in the city, which we offer at our other campuses in Manchester.”
“Given the enormous role that Shena Simon has played in the social history of Manchester we are delighted that, as we exit the site, its architectural integrity will be preserved as its purpose changes, and it will continue to play a major role at the heart of the city.”
CERT has three Manchester residential schemes coming to fruition in 2025, the New Cross BTR scheme, Peelers Yard, Osborne Yard, a BTS project in Collyhurst, and a second BTR scheme, SONA, in Ardwick. Over in Liverpool, CERT is also set to complete its first residential scheme in the city, Centric, located opposite Moorfields station. All projects will be managed by its in-house property management team.
