Developer U+I to drive Manchester growth ambitions with new city base

Regeneration and investment developer U+I has opened a new office in Manchester to drive its growth ambitions in the city.

The company’s new base, located at the Mayfield Depot courtyard, launched with a party attended by chief executive Matthew Weiner, deputy chief exec Richard Upton and chairman Peter Williams, with Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese there as a guest of honour.

Working from Mayfield Depot, the U+I team will lead the £850m transformation of an underused site next to Piccadilly Station into a thriving new 24-acre city district.

The firm said it is now seeking further opportunities for development, regeneration and investment across Greater Manchester.

U+I will be led in Manchester by development director James Heather, who joined the business in March.

Matthew Weiner told guests at the launch event: “We have been active in Manchester for many years but our ambitions underwent a step-change when we were appointed as the development partner for Mayfield, which we believe is the most exciting single regeneration opportunity this city will deliver for a generation.

“We are now seeking projects across Greater Manchester where we know we can deliver transformative schemes which will act as catalysts for wider regeneration and deliver real social as well as financial value.”

He added: “Manchester, along with Dublin and London and the South East, is a strategic focus as a business. It is a city, in our view, which has achieved a huge amount but where so much more can still be done.”

U+I was appointed last December as the development partner for Mayfield, which will see 1,300 homes, 807,000 sq ft of office space and a 350-bedroom hotel delivered, along with retail and leisure facilities and a new park.

Sir Richard Leese commented: “Manchester’s growth aspirations rely on energetic, creative businesses which share our vision for the city and which have the expertise and resource to deliver transformational projects.

“The city and its partners appointed U+I for the Mayfield project because the company presented a compelling vision of what an inclusive, vibrant new city district might look like and demonstrated that they could deliver on that vision.”

He continued: “I am very pleased that they have chosen Manchester as a strategic priority for their business and excited about the potential this has for the city.”

U+I was established in 2014 with the merger of Development Securities, a listed property development and investment company, and regeneration specialist Cathedral Group.