Manchester restaurant and bar specialist Ian Scott is to open a bar on Canal Street, at the heart of the city’s gay village. Scott’s venture will be the first independent gay business to open on Canal Street in five years.
Unit Communications Group has let Scott, backed by Whitbread, 335 sq m (3,606 sq ft) at 1 Canal Street. The rent is understood to be close to £130 per sq m (£12 per sq ft). Scott has have taken a 25-year lease with five-yearly reviews.
Canal Street has been heavily targetted by major national breweries for existing straight formats. The citys large gay community responded by nicknaming it Banal Street.
The signing is being seen as further proof that the corporate market misunderstood Canal Streets appeal.
Tom Cunningham, licensed specialist at Chesterton, who advised Unit Communications, said: “The corporate market went into Canal Street and got the product slightly wrong when they steered it into the mainstream. Thats not what Canal Street is about. This deal takes it back to something independent, with a warmer, friendly atmosphere. I hope well see more deals like it.”
EGi News 14/06/01
