St Michael’s breaks Manchester headline rent record… again

S&P Global has signed a lease for the sixth floor of the office complex from Gary Neville’s Relentless Developments – at a rent of £44/sq ft, Place understands.

Relentless did not share the figure, but the company did acknowledge it had eclipsed its own rent record from 2023. At that time, Pinsent Masons signed a lease for 35,000 sq ft at £43/sq ft at the Jackson’s Row office block. Prior to that, the record was £40/sq ft thanks to Xero signing for 13,200 sq ft at Landmark.

The No1 St Michael’s deal with S&P will see the financial intelligence company take 19,700 sq ft at N01 St Michael’s. This will be the firm’s first permanent base in Manchester. Prior to signing the lease, S&P had been working out of serviced offices in the city.

Reflecting on the lease, Neville said: “This latest deal sees us welcome a stock market powerhouse to St Michael’s, complementing its already vast office portfolio in some of the world’s most exclusive postcodes.”

“It is absolutely fitting that No1 St Michael’s will play host to this firm’s first permanent base in Manchester as the development’s reputation for hosting prominent global brands continues to grow,” he continued.

Will Lewis, director at OBI, acted for Relentless on the deal, while Joe Rigby of CBRE represented S&P.

Lewis said: “St Michael’s is rapidly cultivating a reputation as a development to comfortably rival those found in London and other global capital cities. It’s therefore no surprise a company of the scale and significance of S&P wants to call this eminent building home.”

No1 St Michael’s is still under construction but set to complete later this year. Bowmer + Kirkland began work in January 2022 on the £120m project, which is being delivered by Relentless and US investor KKR.

Designed by Hodder + Partners, No1 St Michael’s is meant to be net zero carbon in both construction and operation. It boasts 180,000 sq ft of offices across nine floors, as well as a rooftop restaurant (the Japanese-Peruvian Chotto Matte). French restaurateur Big Mamma Holdings has also applied for a license for a ground- and first-floor restaurant.

In addition to S&P Global and Pinsent Masons, other future tenants at St Michael’s include Hill Dickinson and flex workspace provider Gilbanks. Altogether, 107,700 sq ft has been taken putting the still unfinished building at nearly 60% let.

Offices are just one part of the St Michael’s project. The scheme, which is valued at £400m, also includes a second building: a residential-led skyscraper with a 162-bed W Hotel and 217 W Residences.

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Salboy has partnered with Relentless for the residential project. Domis Construction began enabling works on the 41-storey tower last year, with an eye to completing the project in the first quarter of 2027.