Benmore plans live music site for Theatre Royal
PROPERTY developer Benmore Group has said that it is on the verge of securing a lease for Manchester’s Theatre Royal building, which it plans to convert into a live music venue.
The building, which is nestled between the Midland and Radisson Edwardian hotels on Peter Street, has most recently been used as a nightclub under the Coliseum and M2 brands, and had previously been known as Royales.
It is the oldest surviving theatre in the city, having been built in 1845. Belfast-based Benmore has said that if it secures the lease it will spend more than £2m restoring the iconic building.
If successful, it will be the second such deal that Benmore has achieved in the city, having agreed a deal for the 1920s Ritz ballroom venue on Whitworth St, which has been subsequently let to concerts promoter Mean Fiddler Entertainment Group now running the site under the HMV Ritz banner.
Benmore Group chief executive David Burrows said: “We believe we are close to securing a deal for the Theatre Royal which would see it undergoing a major refurbishment before operating as a live music venue and attracting to the city some of the biggest names in music.
“We hope to be able to announce that deal soon. If all goes smoothly, the venue could re-open in its new guise as early as summer 2012.”
Benmore Group also said that it was continuing with plans first announced two years ago to build a “high-end” hotel in a 30-storey tower behind the Theatre Royal building.
“Our plans for a hotel adjacent to the site remain in place and are progressing well, considering market conditions,” said Burrows. “Such ambitious schemes are challenging and complex but we are more than satisfied with the progress being made.”
