Manchester cocktail bar Schofield’s has shared its absolute honour at being awarded not one but two prestigious gongs at one of the UK’s biggest bar awards ceremonies.
Shortlisted for no less than four awards in all, the sophisticated cocktail bar was awarded both ‘Bar of the Year’ and ‘New Bar of the Year’ at the Class Bar awards ceremony this week – making history as the first venue to ever win both.
Attending a glitzy awards ceremony on Tuesday night, the understated cocktail den beat London’s A Bar with Shapes for a Name and Tayer + Elementary, as well as Leeds’ Tabula Rasa, to take home two of the ceremony’s biggest awards.
It’s a coup for Bury-born brother Joe and Daniel Schofield, who have only recently opened the sleek city centre cocktail bar – taking over landmark Manchester boozer The Old Grapes last year.
Image; Schofield’s Bar
Since then, they’ve gone from strength to strength – with Schofield’s first appearing at number 16 on the 2022 Top 50 Cocktail Bars List, and now this.
Sharing their news on Instagram, Schofield’s wrote: “We are honoured to receive Bar of the Year and New Bar of the Year at the prestigious CLASS Bar Awards, and be the first bar to ever win both.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our team, for constantly giving 100% to our goal of providing hospitality to our guests.
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Image: Schofield’s Bar
“We would like to thank our guests for supporting what we do on a daily basis. We would also like to thank the hospitality community of Manchester for taking us in.
“We are proud to call Manchester home and proud to be a part of a thriving hospitality scene. To the team who couldn’t join us last night, we collected the awards on your behalf.”
As well as Schofield’s, brothers Joe and Daniel also have a second cocktail bar, Atomeca, on Deansgate Square and recently revealed plans to open a third underneath Gary Neville’s Stock Exchange Hotel.
Image:Schofield’s Bar
Schofield’s wasn’t the only Manchester bar to take home an award on the night.
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Mecanica, the opulent Swan Street bar with a menu inspired by hotels from around the world, also took home a gong from the Class Awards on Tuesday.
Bartender Elena Wright has only been in the industry for a year, but that didn’t stop her from being awarded the ‘Emerging Bartender of the Year’ award at this year’s Class Bar Awards ceremony.
The annual awards, organised by leading industry publication Class, celebrate the very best of the UK’s bartending talent, with further categories including Bar Manager of the Year, Front of House Star of the Year, Bar Employer of the Year, Social Media Presence of the Year and Sustainable Practices Award.
The full list of Class Bar Awards winners and finalists can be found below.
Social Media Presence of the Year sponsored by Della Vite
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Sexy Fish, London
Nightjar & Oriole, London (Winner)
Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Mr Fogg’s, London
Sustainable Practices Award sponsored by Belvedere
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Publiq, London (Winner)
Henrock Bar, Windermere
Ugly Butterfly, St Ives
Rockwell, London
Front of House Star of the Year sponsored by Horse With No Name
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Dina Gestoso-Mattar, Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Christiana Pirinu, The Donovan Bar, London
Jacopo Correnti, Oriole, London (Winner)
Shaneka Mccalla, The Goring Bar, London
Emerging Bartender of the Year sponsored by La Hechicera
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Courtney Francis, Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
Rory Sorrell, Murder Inc, London
Elena Wright, Mecanica, Manchester (Winner)
La’Mel Clarke, Lyaness, London
Bar Employer of the Year sponsored by Master of Malt Trade
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Mecanica, Manchester
Pineapple Club, Birmingham (Winner)
Speakeasy Entertainment (Nightjar & Oriole), London
Dishoom, London
Bar Manager of the Year sponsored by Italicus
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Maura Milia, Connaught Bar, London (Winner)
Klára Kopčikova, Pineapple Club, Birmingham
James Wheeler, Lyaness, London
Sophie Bratt, Sexy Fish, London
Outstanding Contribution Award sponsored by Stauning Whisky
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Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown (Winners)
Cocktail of the Year sponsored by Lanique
Pineapple | Miso, Silverleaf at Pan Pacific, London
Biscoff Old Fashioned, Present Company, Liverpool
Pastel, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London (Winner)
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Irish Coffee, Swift, London
Drinks Menu of the Year sponsored by Franklin & Sons
Lab 22, Cardiff (Winner)
A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
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Couch, Birmingham
Bar Food Menu of the Year sponsored by Menabrea
Bon Vivant, Edinburgh
Tayer + Elementary, London (Winner)
Little Mercies, London
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Homeboy, London
Specialist Bar of the Year sponsored by Savoia
KOL, London
Hey Palu, Edinburgh
Milroy’s, London
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Hacha, London (Winner)
Hotel Bar of the Year sponsored by Moët & Chandon
Side Hustle, Nomad, London
Connaught Bar, The Connaught, London (Winner)
Artesian, The Langham, London
Lyaness, Sea Containers, London
New Bar of the Year sponsored by Hapusa Gin
A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Schofield’s Bar, Manchester (Winner)
Tabula Rasa, Leeds
Silverleaf at Pan Pacific, London
Bar of the Year sponsored by Disaronno
Tayer + Elementary, London
Schofield’s Bar, Manchester (Winner)
A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Lab 22, Cardiff
Bartender of the Year sponsored by The Busker
Rachel Orange, Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
Remy Savage, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London (Winner)
Monica Berg, Tayer + Elementary, London
Filippos Filippopoulos, Tabula Rasa, Leeds
Bar Innovator(s) of the Year sponsored by Tia Maria
Lyndon Higginson, The Liars Group, Manchester
Joe & Daniel Schofield, Schofield’s Bar / Atomeca, Manchester
Monica Berg & Alex Kratena, Tayer + Elementary, London (Winner)
Remy Savage, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
News
A ‘legacy walk’ in memory of the Joe Thompson is taking place across Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
The ‘Walk With Me for JT’, a.k.a Joe Thompson ‘Legacy Walk’, is back next month, and Greater Mancunians are being encouraged to take part.
Returning this year following his tragic passing last April, the now annual charity walk has already raised thousands for charity and is set for another big turnout.
Joe Thompson, an ex-Rochdale AFC and Bury FC player, sadly died at just 36 following a long battle with lymphoma, having been diagnosed three different times in 12 years.
While the young husband and father of two’s story is a heartbreaking one, it has also become a source of inspiration for so many across the North West and, indeed, across the UK, with people once again gearing up to complete a fundraising walk in his name.
Set to honour him by making the journey from his adopted home of Rochdale all the way to Old Trafford, with Thompson having come through Man United’s youth academy, the 15-mile trek will start at his former club’s Crown Oil Arena and stop at Bury’s Gigg Lane as well as Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium.
First held in 2024 under the ‘Walk With Me for JT’ banner, the initial legacy walk saw the Bath-born footballer and countless others complete 21 miles in an effort to raise money for treatment.
Gone but never forgotten, the charity walk survives not only in the hearts and souls of his family, friends and other people’s lives he touched, but in the community spirit that his struggle and immense bravery in the face of illness helped spur on throughout the region and beyond.
Writing on social media, the Thompson family and the Foundation in his memory said, “Last year, he walked beside us. This year, we walk for him. This isn’t just a walk… It’s a promise. A promise to carry his strength, his belief, his light forward.
For every family facing illness. For everyone experiencing loss or hardship. For anyone who needs hope right now. Every step matters. Every mile has meaning. Whether you’ve walked before or this is your first time. You won’t walk alone.”
Join the annual Joe Thompson legacy walk on Saturday 2nd May 💙
Departing from the Crown Oil Arena, the 15-mile walk will finish at Manchester United's Old Trafford 🏟️
They signed off by adding: “Be part of something bigger. Be part of Joe’s legacy. Be part of the movement. Get a team together, invite your friends, colleagues and family and let’s raise funds to support The Joe Thompson Foundation.”
With the event beginning at 11am on Saturday, 2 May, there have already been numerous sign-ups, and you can expect even more to lace up their shoes and pay tribute to a local hero.
If you want to join in the effort and help do your bit, you can register for the 2026 Joe Thompson Legacy Walk right HERE.
Manchester rent is now ‘41% more expensive than five years ago, according to a recent study
Danny Jones
Yes, that’s right, as per some of the latest data on leased housing in central Manchester, it’s now approximately 41% more expensive to rent here than it was half a decade ago.
If you’ve lived in and around the city centre for long enough, chances are that you’ve already been feeling that difference, especially of late.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis roughly began in 2021, following the economy and the world essentially opening back up after multiple lockdowns, so it’s little surprise that new research has shown affordability when it comes to renting has been on a slump ever since, too.
As well as the price of seemingly most things in everyday life going up post-pandemic, the average rental rate for even just a one-bedroom flat/apartment has jumped up significantly between 2020 and 2025.
Even some ‘available’ housing in town is being hampered by claddin (Credit: Valienne via WikiCommons)
That’s according to the numbers crunched by credit card experts, Zable, anyway.
Not only did their recent report cite the rent prices going up even before the cost of living crisis – essentially following the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak – but if their figures, the rate of inflation and the unwaveringly high demand for housing are anything to go by, this trajectory is likely to continue in 2026.
As of February this year, around one in three UK households is now a single-person occupancy, which already comes with its challenges (the Manchester City Council tax discount being a thin lifeline for countless), not to mention energy bills and the cost of groceries continuing on an upwards trend.
Put in the simplest and most reductive terms, it’s now almost £300 dearer for most people to live on their own than it was back in 2020, and besides Liverpool clocking in as second on the list of increasingly expensive cities to live (a 42.12% increase), Manchester came in third.
You can see the full table down below:
Rank
City
% increase – 2020-2025
Difference from 2020 to 2025 in £
Average rental cost for a 1 bed 2025
1
Newport
47.39%
£2,611
£8,121
2
Liverpool
42.12%
£2,290
£7,727
3
Manchester
41.00%
£3,364
£11,569
4
Edinburgh
40.28%
£4,620
£16,090
5
Leicester
39.93%
£2,391
£8,379
6
Wolverhampton
39.22%
£2,049
£7,273
7
Nottingham
39.07%
£2,400
£8,543
8
Glasgow
38.02%
£2,679
£9,725
9
Colchester
37.63%
£2,617
£9,572
10
Cardiff
37.06%
£2,828
Average rental cost for a 1-bed 2025
Another fear is that with lots of people finding it hard to manage living in other major cities like London, even those moving to Manchester are also having an impact on how available affordable housing is here.
That’s why schemes such as the new ‘social rent’ development over in Wythenshawe are so important to the current generations of renters, with the possibility of owning your own property in the future becoming increasingly difficult for so many.
It’s also worth noting that Manchester ranked fourth among the British locations where the cost of living is said to have increased the most over the past five years, with the average difference in annual spend growing by an estimated 22.84%.
Georgina Pellant -
26th May 2022 
