Law firm Shoosmiths helps revive forgotten Manchester recording studio

A team from law firm Shoosmiths’ Manchester office has advised on a deal to resurrect a former music studio once used by artists such as New Order, Depeche Mode, Spandau Ballet and Paul Weller.

Led by the head of Shoosmiths’ IP & Creative Industries group, partner Laura Harper, the team represented developer Allied London’s St John’s Neighbourhood on its agreement with music producer Brendan Williams and TV producer/music manager Dan Parrott for the studio.

The new facility, Low Four, will be located at the Old Granada Studios site and developed by St. John’s cultural director Katie Popperwell in partnership with the University of Salford.

Once complete, the site become a recording studio, live broadcast studio and training hub for students.

The venue, which will offer a private hire space for live events, will also house a television studio broadcasting new music programming on lowfour.tv, a digital platform.

Allied London has leased the property to Brendan and Dan but invested in the project as part of a strategic initiative to bring original music production back into the space, which was once the home of Granada TV’s music department

Laura Harper, who worked on the deal with Shoosmiths’ associate Carol Isherwood, said: “It has been a privilege to be involved in bringing this cultural hidden gem back to use, Manchester has such a fantastic heritage it is great that the rising musical stars of tomorrow can now share the same studio as some true greats.”

Allied London’s Katie Popperwell commented: “Our cultural objectives for St John’s are about facilitating creative enterprise – we want to inspire and support new talent, create space for artistic experimentation and generate opportunities for creative learning.”