Q1 complete and a busy March…. here are some standouts

Corporate deal of the month

Cheadle-based Seda, a contract R&D and manufacturing pharma organisation, secured £15m from the Business Growth Fund, described as a pivotal moment by CEO Dr Paul Stott.

Property deal of the month

X+Why have ventured into Manchester’s Northern Quarter, the first major flex operator at The Hive. In a district lacking quality flex space, this will take things up a notch – it will include a fully transformed ground floor experience, with new F&B spaces, remodelled centralised reception and end of journey facilities. Grosvenor is the landlord.

One to watch

Domis is now on site at No.2 St Michael’s, which will set new benchmarks for quality, sustainability and design, expanding on the ambition shown at the record-breaking No.1 building. Relentless and Salboy are moving the game on once more. We enjoyed launching the office element this month.

One for the future

As much as the Northern Quarter has moved on, it has some legacy issues, not least the bulky, unloved Church St car park. Glenbrook seem a smart choice to take the site forward, with a resi-led scheme opening the whole plot up. Consultation is open.

Eyecatcher of the month

Manchester! I enjoyed MIPIM again this year. The Manchester tent is like it’s own Oasis – the GMCA, MCC, Invest Manchester and Marketing Manchester always combine seamlessly to do it better than anyone else.

Business of the month

March saw TJM Projects hit the 22-year mark, a great business we’ve worked with on excellent projects, including at Sevendale House, Birchwood Park, Hyphen and Bonded Warehouse.

What we liked in March

Nice recognition for JW Lees’ revival of Manchester icon Boddington’s Bitter, named by top beer writer Pete Brown as the best of the mainstream beers you might expect to see on the average bar top. The comeback is complete!