Manchester’s former Stock Exchange building has been given planning permission for a refurbishment and conversion into a 35 bedroom boutique hotel by Manchester City Council.



The development is being backed by ex-Manchester United players Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville which will also see the creation of a private members’ space, a restaurant and the rooftop construction of a bar which will be built on top of the 1906 Grade II listed building.



The iconic Manchester building which was valued at £4.7m in 2004 but was later bought by the former football heroes for £1.5m two years ago.



Giggs and Neville have also entered into a JV arrangement with Manchester Town Hall to further develop the area around Jackson’s Row with the creation of a range of bars, shops, offices and restaurants.



Neville’s property consultancy Zerum are acting as the agents for the recent application and Zerum’s Head of Planning Mike Ralph, said the development would be a high-quality scheme that would regenerate a long-vacant landmark building.



He went on to say: “This planning approval creates an important platform for our client to finalise its operational requirements before hopefully pressing on with the implementation of what is an exciting scheme for this important city centre property.”



This is more great news for the property and construction industry in the North West as Manchester continues to take its place as one of the key drivers for demand of construction jobs and construction supplies in the region as a whole.