Grosvenor, the property company controlled by the Duke of Westminster, has broken ground on a £40m repositioning of The Hive in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. This marks the first time the group’s directly managed flexible workplace model has been introduced outside of London.
The Lever Street landmark, spanning 78,000 square feet, will be reimagined as a destination office building with 25,500 square feet of flexible space and a hospitality-driven amenities offering. The ground floor units on Lever Street will house a deli and restaurant, both run by what Grosvenor calls “well-known Manchester names”. The opening is planned for autumn 2026.
For Grosvenor’s UK property arm, the project is the most visible test yet of a regional strategy launched in 2020, which now spans around 500,000 sq ft across Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds. The portfolio is currently 90 percent leased, a figure that compares favorably to a regional office market that is still struggling with hybrid working and a flight to quality.
The group has appointed x+why, the B Corp certified workspace operator, to operate more than 22,000 square feet of the flexible floors under a management agreement. The deal expands a partnership that began in 2023 at Fivefields, Grosvenor’s social impact workspace in Victoria, and signals a growing desire from traditional landlords to integrate operational expertise into their own buildings, rather than ceding space to third-party flexible leases under traditional leases.
The interiors are designed by x+why’s in-house team, whydesign, with a conscious nod to local craftsmanship. Pieces from Manchester-based furniture designers and artists, including Aiden Donovan, Jesse Cracknell, Matt Dennis and Mima Adams, will be incorporated into the design, while elements from the furnishings installed by previous tenant The Arts Council will be repurposed, a small but significant gesture to the building’s creative heritage.
The bet on Manchester reflects a broader belief within Grosvenor that the city’s office market remains one of the most resilient outside the capital, underpinned by a large talent pool, business influx and a structural shortage of prime space. The landlord’s nearby Ship Canal House is almost fully let after a series of new lettings and contract extensions.
Fergus Evans, director of office portfolios at Grosvenor Property UK, said the Hive program embodies the group’s regional approach to “taking a world-class property in a great location and repositioning it to meet the changing needs of today’s occupiers”. He added: “Manchester continues to perform strongly for us and our investment in The Hive reflects the continued demand for well-located, high-quality offices, particularly from the city’s growing digital and creative economy. Combining x+why’s experience in creating design-led, community-focused workspaces with our approach to active asset management, we are well placed to deliver a distinctive, flexible offering that responds to local demand.”
Rupert Dean, managing director and co-founder of x+why, said the operator was “delighted to be working with Grosvenor once again to take The Hive into its next chapter”. He added: “The Northern Quarter is one of the most exciting and entrepreneurial parts of the UK and The Hive will reflect that energy, providing a workspace that is not only functional but also inspiring and socially driven.”
For SMEs and scale-ups in Manchester’s digital and creative cluster, the very tenants Grosvenor and x+why are courting, the introduction of a higher-priced, hospitality-focused flex product on Lever Street is likely to increase competition with established players such as WeWork, Bruntwood and Department and could drive up overall rents in the Northern Quarter when the doors open next autumn.
