Manchester‘s newest landmark arts complex Factory International is reportedly in talks to sell naming rights to the venue to help fund the rising costs of the project.
After it was reported earlier this month that the huge arts centre being built in Manchester city centre – which is set to be a world-leading theatre, performance space, and cultural hub – had blown past its budget once again, and was seeking for a further £25.2 million in funding from the government and Arts Council England to be approved by Manchester City Council, it’s now been revealed that the option for selling naming rights is being explored.
Plans for the unique structure – which boasts 21m-high ceilings and an enormous warehouse-style space that can be divided up for different audiences – were first announced in 2016, and back then, its total budget was set to be £110 million, with an opening date pencilled in for 2019.
But now, as construction costs continue to skyrocket, the landmark complex is actually looking at a total cost of £210.8 million, which is almost double its original budget, and a completion date in 2023.
Councillors are expected to approve the renewed request for funding at an executive meeting next week – but local authority leaders say they hope “a significant proportion” of the costs will be recovered by selling the naming rights to the venue.
Factory International is set to be a world-leading theatre, performance space, and cultural hub / Credit: Pawel Paniczko
MIF executive director Randel Bryan told the Council that the naming deal is expected to raise at least £25 million.
This is said to go above the total fundraising target previously set for the arts centre.
“We’ve already had really advanced conversations with a number of leading brands that have been in excess of the £24 million mark,” Mr Bryan said.
“Those deals, for a number of reasons, are still being developed and are still in a pipeline, but it does show that there are sponsors and partners out there that are prepared to exceed our ambitions with naming rights.”
Factory bosses hope to finish the naming rights deal before the venue opens in 2023, with around 70% of the proceeds from the deal going to the Council directly and the remaining 30% to support MIF and the future of the venue.
When it’s finally completed, the complex will be programmed and operated by the team behind Manchester International Festival (MIF) to act as a permanent home to the roving arts festival, and it’s expected to create or support around 1,500 jobs, attract 850,000 visitors a year, and contribute around £1.1 billion to the economy over a decade.
Manchester City Council says the venue will be “inclusive and inspiring”, with plenty of free and low cost events and opportunities for Manchester people to get involved, both as participants as well as audiences.
Featured Image – OMA 24
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Def Leppard announce HUGE arena gig in Manchester next year
Thomas Melia
English Glam Rock band Def Leppard have announced a brand new UK tour which features a stop in one of Manchester’s big arenas next year.
Known for hits like ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’, ‘Animal’, ‘Love Bites’ and more, Def Leppard are back on the road and they’re heading out on a UK tour.
The band has achieved worldwide acclaim since entering the rock scene with their first-ever single, ‘Wasted’, back in 1979, and their success resulted in getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
In 2023, Def Leppard teamed up with fellow metalheads Motley Crüe for the ultimate ‘Rock of Ages’, playing a spell-bounding gig at Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 people.
The rock legends are continuing their career-highlight streak as now they’re about to play one of Manchester’s largest arenas, Co-op Live, sending 23,500 fans into ‘Hysteria’.
This upcoming Def Leppard UK tour sees the band making their way to Glasgow, Sheffield, London and Birmingham before visiting the music capital of the North.
The love for these rockers isn’t slowing down either, as their latest album ‘Drastic Symphonies’, a collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, scored Def Leppard their highest charting record in 32 years, debuting at number 4.
Fans will be over the moon to know that the five-piece visiting Co-op Live next year includes the same band lineup since 1992, with Joe Elliot, Rick Allen, Phil Collen, Rick Savage and Vivian Campbell playing out on the night.
The Rock Brigade will always make sure to remember Steve Clark, founding member and adorned- ‘Riffmaster’, and although the guitarist won’t be playing this innovative live music venue, fans will still give it their all for the current ‘Gods of War’.
These Sheffield-formed musicians have sold more than 110 million albums worldwide, so there will be no ‘Foolin’ around when it comes to screaming their lyrics at the top of your lungs next summer.
Def Leppard are coming to Co-op Live in Manchester on Monday 5 July, with tickets going on sale from 10am on Friday 5 September
Bolton man jailed for life after killing ‘vulnerable’ woman and hiding her body in his shed
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed for life after murdering a vulnerable woman and then proceeding to hide her body in a shed at his house in Bolton.
Christopher Barlow killed Mariann Borocz back in December 2024 after randomly meeting her at a shop and inviting her to his house, before killing her and then going on to dump her body in a locked shed in his garden.
55-year-old Mariann, who was originally from Hungary, was reported missing on Sunday 15 December having been last seen alive in the early hours of the previous day.
During the police search and investigation, CCTV showed Barlow following Mariann into a shop near his house and then back out again, and after Barlow was arrested on suspicion of assault on 23 December, officers found the keys to his shed – which is when they, sadly, discovered Mariann’s body.
Barlow was charged with murder, but the 63-year-old first denied this charge, and also denied any contact with Mariann.
The case was then handed over to Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team, led by Detective Chief Inspector Tony Platten.
#JAILED | This is the moment Christopher Barlow was arrested for the murder of Mariann Borocz.
We made extensive efforts to locate Mariann, and our thoughts continue to be with her family.
A three-week trial then began at Manchester Crown Court, and when forensic evidence linked Barlow to Mariann’s body, he then when on to admit during the trial that he had invited her into his house, and found her not breathing in his kitchen about 40 minutes later.
Despite maintaining he did dot murder her, the jury returned its guilty verdict after less than a day of deliberation.
Last week, Barlow was sentenced to life in prison and must serve a minimum term of 20 years behind bars.
Detective Sergeant Fiona Manning described this as a ‘harrowing’ investigation and subsequent trial for Mariann’s family.
“Barlow befriended Mariann and she believed she could trust him,” DS Manning said, “That could not have been further from reality.”
DS Manning then assured that GMP remains ‘steadfast’ in its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of women in Greater Manchester‘s communities, and will continue to work ‘tirelessly’ to uphold justice.
She concluded: “Women should be able to go out freely and without fear that something may happen to them.”
Emily Sergeant -
17th October 2022 
