Pannone recently sponsored a must-attend event on the Manchester property calendar: the latest Property Lunch hosted by TheBusinessDesk.com.

Held in the Garden Court at Manchester Hall, developers, investors, architects and other property professionals were welcomed with drinks and networking on the rooftop terrace, making the most of the sunny weather and city views.

Gareth Birch, partner in the Real Estate team, opened the event by introducing Pannone and reflecting on its decade-long journey in the sector.

He told attendees: “We’re very happy to sponsor the event today. I’d like to thank each and every one of you for joining us, and to Tim Heatley from Capital & Centric for giving his time to speak. I’ve worked on the other side of several Capital & Centric developments over the years, and I’ve always been impressed with the quality of the developments and the extra thought that goes into them.”

The afternoon featured a keynote conversation between Tim Heatley, co-founder of social impact developer Capital & Centric, and editor of TheBusinessDesk.com Michael Taylor. Tim spoke openly about his journey from Salford law student to a driving force behind some of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration projects.

Capital & Centric is currently investing over £2 million a week in regeneration, with schemes including the £250m Kampus neighbourhood in Manchester and the £50m redevelopment of Liverpool’s Littlewoods building into TV and film studios to create “the Hollywood of the North”.

Tim shared how his early ventures, from selling upcycled art and banger cars at university to developing his first house in Salford using his student loan, laid the groundwork for his current work. He also spoke about how his parents inspired his values-led approach at Capital & Centric.

“I’m still upcycling things that are overlooked and under-loved, and under-appreciated, trying to make them more accessible” he explained. “I’m going to make sure that if I can help, I will help other people who aren’t as fortunate as I am. It’s the Manchester way – you leave the ladder down for others.”

Capital & Centric are behind Embassy Village, a project which started with the renovation of a tour bus into a homeless shelter and is now a permanent facility under previously disused railway arches with 40 new high-quality homes.

Asked about his role as Chair of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, Tim said: “Homelessness and rough sleeping is mind-bogglingly complicated. It moves and changes all the time and just when you think you’ve cracked it, something macroeconomically happens.”

On the growth of Capital & Centric over the years, Tim spoke about doubling output every two years, the importance of adapting to local and national government policy priorities, and how appearing in the BBC documentary Manctopia opened doors.

Now leading the development of the UK’s largest new town in Cambridge, with 10,000 new homes planned, Tim reflected: “If you were talking about doing that when I started out with a semi-detached in Salford, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Pannone was proud to support this event and play a role in facilitating a valuable and interesting learning and networking opportunity for sector professionals.

Lancashire ‘gem’, The Shard Riverside Inn, will be ‘brought back to where it was’, after it was acquired by the Taziker family.

Nigel Taziker, who lives five minutes away from the well-known hotel, bar and restaurant, led the deal alongside his father, Tom.

The family will make an initial investment to refurbish the property, but insist it is ‘business as usual’.

Nigel commented: “The Shard Riverside Inn is a real gem in the local area and a place we know extremely well. When the opportunity came up to buy it, we couldn’t say no.

“We are in the process of bringing The Shard Riverside back to where it was through a significant investment programme. While it will be business as usual for all our loyal customers, the aim is to work alongside our team, as we look to breathe new life into the hotel.”

The Taziker family was advised on the deal by Pannone Corporate. The transaction was led by Gareth Birch, associate partner in the firm’s real estate team. He said: “We’ve worked alongside Nigel and his family for a number of years and we’re delighted to have supported them on a deal that clearly means a lot – not just to the family, but to the local community.

“Everyone is invested in the future The Shard Riverside and the Taziker family’s investment means this local institution will continue to be an important fixture on the banks of the River Wyre.”

The 23-bedroom hotel, bar and restaurant is located near the market town of Poulton-le-Fylde in the village of Hambleton. Dating back to 1766, the building – named after the nearby Shard Bridge – was a ferryman’s cottage known as Shard House. In the Victorian times, author of Black Beauty, Anna Sewell, was known to often visit her relatives who lived at the property.

Pannone Corporate has advised online fashion giant, Boohoo, on the acquisition of a new £72 million London headquarters.

The Real Estate and Corporate teams acted as legal advisers to Boohoo, which has purchased the high-profile offices previously occupied by Microsoft and Nokia. The team was led by Tim Hamilton, Corporate partner and Gareth Birch, Real Estate associate partner, with support from Barbara Wang, Danielle Amor and Helen Jadhav. Nick Davies, partner at Axis Property Consultancy LLP, acted as property consultant for Boohoo.

The six-story office building located at 10 Great Pulteney Street will become home to all London-based product, marketing, technology and central support teams – approximately 600 staff – as well as offering flexible working for Boohoo staff.

Gareth Birch said: “As a longstanding client, we’re absolutely delighted to have advised Boohoo on the acquisition of such a prestigious building in London’s West End.

“Boohoo is a real success story for Manchester and the North West and this latest move, which bolsters its expanding property portfolio and cements its presence in the capital, is testament to its exceptional growth in recent years and the boom in online retail, particularly over the last 12 months.”

The purchase of the 43,963 sq. ft. building, follows Boohoo’s acquisition of Debenhams out of administration and several Arcadia brands, including Oasis, Warehouse, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Wallis, which significantly grow its presence in London.

Nick Davies added: “We were delighted to assist Boohoo in securing the premises, given the interest from other high-profile global brands. The premises is in the heart of Soho, providing a vibrant London West End headquarters building and a strong commitment to the city.”