Corum XL has completed an off-market deal to acquire 201 Deansgate in central Manchester from CBRE IM, Green Street News can reveal.

The French investor is understood to have paid £29m to acquire the 81,200 sq ft multi-let office opposite the city’s Spinningfields business district and on the corner of Jackson’s Row. CBRE and Kimmre advised on the transaction.

Constructed in 1997, the building underwent a full refurbishment in 2021 costing around £2.5m. It is currently the headquarters of online trading platform Interactive Investor, which occupies 31,000 sq ft, with other tenants including insurance firm AIG and law firm Exchange Chambers.

The building also includes a 11,400 sq ft retail unit fronting Deansgate, which was formerly home to Evans Cycles but now houses a 450-capacity shuffleboard bar, Electric Shuffle.

It is Corum’s second acquisition in Manchester following its purchase of St James’s Tower in 2022. The fund acquired the 88,000 sq ft office from BlackRock in a £32m deal.

Corum is also active elsewhere in the North West, having acquired Skyways House in Liverpool from Fiera Real Estate in 2022 for around £38m. Elsewhere in the country, other deals for Corum in recent years include the acquisition of Orchard Street’s Exchange Buildings in central Birmingham in a deal worth around £23m last year.

The fund is one of several SCPIs (société civile de placement immobiliers) active in the UK regional office market. Overall, these invested £332m last year over 17 deals, according to BNP Paribas RE – a 30% increase on the number of trades completed in 2023.

Other active buyers include Iroko Zen and Sofidy, which both debuted in the UK in 2024.

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https://greenstreetnews.com/article/french-fund-swoops-for-29m-manchester-office/