Fallowfield’s iconic 1960s Toast Rack building has been put up for sale by its owners ahead of a major redevelopment of the area.
The historic breakfast-themed building was sold to owner Overseas investor Estrela by Manchester Metropolitan University for a cool £5m back in 2014, now nearly a decade later it is being listed again.
A familiar sight amongst Manchester students young and old, the Grade II-listed landmark is now tipped for a big redevelopment – as the 3.71-acre site reappears on the market with detailed planning consent for over 200 homes.
Listed in a package that includes the entire Hollings Campus site – which is an area spanning four football pitches – also included in the sale are neighbouring buildings the Horseshoe, Gateway site, and Stitching Hall.
The package is being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield, with plans to include 20,910 sq ft of gym and leisure space, 7,582 sq ft of commercial space, and 154 car parking spaces, plus over 200 new flats, a gym, coffee shop, and a roof top garden.
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Image: Wikipedia
The redevelopment will mean the end of an era for one of the city’s most famous buildings, first created by Manchester City Council’s then Chief Architect Leonard Cecil Howitt to reflect its purpose as a catering college.
Originally known as the Hollings Building, its triangular shape, curling concrete arches and a circular block alongside soon led to the site being known colloquially as the Toast Rack.
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Opening to initial bemusement, the breakfast-themed building eventually became a beloved part of the Fallowfield region – especially in the student community after it was purchased by Manchester Metropolitan University.
In April 1998, The Toast Rack was even granted Grade II listed status by English Heritage – who described it as ‘a distinctive and memorable building which demonstrates this architect’s love of structural gymnastics in a dramatic way’.
Manchester Metropolitan University continued using the building until 2013, then decided to shift its student campuses further north and sold up the following year.
Four years later, The Gym Group moved in – turning the ‘Dru’m into a state-of-the-art leisure facility as part of a 15-year agreement.
In 2021, Generation Ltd was committed to delivering 210 apartments in the area alongside 20,000 sq ft of commercial space. Now it appears that that opportunity will instead be passed on to a new buyer.
Bruce Poizer, head of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield in Manchester, told the Manchester Evening News: “The Toast Rack is one of the most striking and recognisable buildings in Manchester and we are delighted bring it to market.
“This is an incredibly rare opportunity to invest in a vibrant area that is ripe for development. Fallowfield is synonymous with student living, it is also a popular suburb for young professionals and families due to its proximity to Manchester city centre, cultural amenities and sport and leisure.
“We anticipate strong interest in this unique site and expect it to appeal to both build-to-rent and student accommodation investors and developers.”
Club de Padel to close current Manchester location to make way for more Deansgate Square skyscrapers
Daisy Jackson
Club de Padel, the first padel club to open in Manchester, will be relocating from its Deansgate Square home.
The wildly popular sports club will close next week, as landowners Renaker begin the next phase of development of the skyscraper district.
Club de Padel is keeping its new location under wraps for now – but will be going out from its current Manchester home with a bang.
The club, which welcomed more than 100,000 people in the first year alone, will be offering free padel for all before it closes at Deansgate Square.
Club de Padel launched back in 2023, with four competition-grade courts, and has since added a Finnish sauna experience with Good Sauna, launched a best-selling clothing range with UN:IK, plus become the home for Manchester’s most popular run club with MADE Running.
As well as that, the club has been donating free courts and coaching during the school holidays to local children’s charity Wood Street Mission, and hosting events with the likes of adidas, REFY and Blank Street Coffee.
It’s been one of the city’s top sporting success stories, attracting attention from the likes of The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Hypebae and the BBC.
But now Club de Padel will be leaving its current home ahead of Renaker’s expansion of its luxury skyscraper district.
Club de Padel ManchesterClub de Padel is at the foot of the Deansgate Square towers
As for that new top-secret location opening later this year – they’re promising an ‘indoor and outdoor space in an incredible location, featuring an expanded padel experience, high-end wellness and social spaces, and a year-round programme of events’.
Club de Padel founders said in a statement today: “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built here in Manchester — bringing padel to the city centre for the first time and introducing tens of thousands of people to the sport during our time on Deansgate.
“But this site was never meant to be permanent, and we’ve been limited in what we can build here, so the time is right to move on, grow and improve.
“We’ve learned a huge amount from our time in Manchester and from opening our second club in Sheffield last year, and we’re excited to reveal the locations of our new sites — including the new Manchester club — and begin the next phase.
“In the meantime, we want to thank everyone who has made this club so special, and invite them to enjoy a free game of padel on us.”
Club de Padel will close to begin its Manchester relocation on 14 January.
You can book a free hour of padel between 9 and 14 January, through the usual Playtomic system – you’ll be refunded for your booking in full on arrival.
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s top property hotspots for 2026
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been revealed as one of the most-searched places to move to in the UK according to annual data.
Every year, leading property listing website, Rightmove, takes a look at all the cities, towns, and residential areas across the UK where people searched for homes to live in most, and puts together an interesting top 10 list.
From the suburban neighbourhoods and coastal escapes, to country communities, overseas destinations, and everything in betweeen, Rightmove has been digging into the numbers and trends to see where house-hunters dreamed of moving to the most last year, and found that this year’s trends tell ‘an interesting story’.
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s property hotspots for 2026 / Credit: James Feaver (via Unsplash)
Property experts say this year’s ‘hotspot’ list is shaped by lifestyle changes, shifting priorities, and economic influences that are reshaping demand.
As was to be expected, major cities dominated UK property searches in 2025.
London continued to ‘lead the way’ as the country’s main urban hub, with close to 10 million people calling the English capital home currently, meaning it, unsurprisingly, claimed the top spot when it came to area searches – but Manchester wasn’t very close behind.
Top 10 most-searched UK cities on Rightmove 2025
London
Manchester
Glasgow
Bristol
Edinburgh
York
Bath
Cornwall
Liverpool
Sheffield
Our city claimed second place on the list, with several other major northern cities featuring in the top 10 too, including York, Sheffield, and Liverpool.
Glasgow is third on the list, while Bristol and Edinburgh rounded out the top five.
“Our review of the year spotlights some of the most popular trends from 2025,” explained Rightmove’s property expert, Colleen Babcock.
Georgina Pellant -
20th June 2023 
