HAD & Co: The female-led architecture business building a better Manchester
Launched by school friends Saira Hussein and Nixie Edwards in Burnley, HAD & Co is one of the most successful female-led industry firms in Britain - branching out to Manchester in 2018 after a decade which saw them scoop over 40 award nominations.
Construction is a man’s world. Or so the old cliche goes.
The arena of hard hats, hi-vis and heavy lifting has historically been recognised as a no-fly zone for females – with men accounting for over 89% of people working in the industry today.
But as it turns out, Mancs don’t have to look far to find an example of a firm that’s bucking the trend.
HAD & Co Property Consultants is a proud member of the 11%; a female-led construction industry business sat right on the doorstep of the city centre.
Launched by school friends Saira Hussain and Nixie Edwards, originally from Burnley, HAD & Co has morphed into one of Britain’s most successful women-steered consultancies – opening up in Manchester in 2018 after an enormously successful first decade of experience which saw the duo scoop 40 + award nominations.
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Manchester certainly likes its innovators – and HAD & Co fits that description in more ways than one.
“Things move so much faster here,” Saira tells us.
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“In a small town like Burnley, the work is very different. In Manchester there’s more projects, more development, more investment, more funding and more support from councils.
“It’s been an incredible experience for us.”
It didn’t take long for HAD & Co to became a sought-after name in the local scene for advice and guidance surrounding interior design, planning and architecture.
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But just 18 months after they’d settled in, the doors to the office were hastily locked due to the onset of the pandemic.
The world of construction has, in many people’s eyes, been ‘one of the lucky ones’ during the pandemic.
For the most part, the maze of towering cranes that permanently populate Manchester have largely stayed put as work continued through lockdown.
But even in this industry, the constantly-changing rules have proven troublesome.
The closure of local restaurants and cafes under Tier 3 has kicked off a domino effect that’s rippled through to the building sector – pausing development work and leading to cancelled deals with suppliers.
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The damage to hospitality has penetrated so deep it has hurt the wider economy – and HAD has felt the impact.
“We’d just got things moving, then COVID hits,” Saira tells us.
“It’s been an enormous challenge for us and we’ve faced some difficulties – but we’ve found a way to navigate it.”
According to Saira, the secret to HAD’s survival has been cementing strong relationships in the city and securing lengthy contracts.
In the two years since moving to Manchester, HAD & Co has commenced work on heritage projects for historic venues like the Royal Exchange and signed long-term deals that have given the company the necessary robustness to stand firm in the face of COVID.
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HAD & Co has also enjoyed huge success in HMO planning applications – securing as many as seven during the pandemic alone.
But whilst 70% of HAD & Co’s work is commercial, the rest is focused on residential development and interior design – one of the few markets that enjoyed high spending in COVID.
2020 was a year where most of us spent more time indoors than ever before – making us intimately familiar with every single surface, corner, nook and cranny in the building – and it proved to be a waking realisation.
After weeks looking at the same four walls for 24 hours a day, homeowners came to the conclusion that there was a lot about their properties and workplaces they wanted to change.
Demand for loft conversions and extensions went through the roof. Literally in some instances.
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“We’ve had such high demand for designing people’s houses,” Saira explains.
“One side of being a female-led practice is that clients are more comfortable with you when it comes to interior design work.
“They feel like you have a better understanding and are open to dealing with you.
“On the residential side of things, that’s definitely a benefit.”
In their spare time, Saira and Nixies are ambassadors for women in construction, encouraging young women to follow in the footsteps of firms like HAD & Co whilst endorsing sustainable design and clean technology.
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But her day job is all about keeping the momentum of the business going .
“We’ve got around 30 projects on the go right now,” Saira tells us.
“Some of them are long-term, others are faster turnarounds.
“It’s a real mix and it’s all really exciting.”
It’s true that the future remains uncertain for businesses for as long as coronavirus is around.
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But if we can rely on one thing, it’s that the city skyline will continue to change.
There’s simply no stopping construction in Manchester. And HAD & Co’s fingerprints will be all over it. Right the way through 2021.
Learn more about the great work HAD & Co are doing in Manchester by visiting the company website.
Business
City Football Group strike landmark deal with Sony for series of TV shows
Danny Jones
Manchester City’s owners have struck yet another big commercial deal ahead of the 2024/25 season, announcing a new collaboration with Sony to produce a number of original TV series.
Confirmed on Wednesday, 23 July, the deal between the City Football Group (CFG) and Sony Pictures Television will see the entertainment corporation create various TV productions for Man City and the other clubs owned by the limited company as part of a new global partnership.
While it marks the third multimedia crossover of its kind they’ve had with an entertainment-led brand, having first worked with Amazon on their All Or Nothing series and then Netflix for the Treble Winners documentary, this deal will see Sony become an official partner of Man City.
City Football Group (CFG) and Sony Pictures Television have inked a new deal encompassing original scripted, nonfiction, and kids’ television projects. The collaboration will see CFG’s media creative production unit and expertise in sport pair with SPT’s production capabilities… pic.twitter.com/LmagHBMG2b
Although exactly how lucrative the deal itself is yet to be disclosed, as per an official statement from the club, the partnership will see Sony “co-develop and produce new original scripted, nonfiction, and kids’ television projects for worldwide audiences.”
The announcement goes on to state that “as well as scripted and unscripted series, projects can also include one-off documentaries, animated projects, or children’s programming.”
Given that CFG has stakes in 13 clubs across Europe, South America, Asia, the United States and Australia – most notably Girona, New York and Melbourne City, French club ES Troyes AC and Italian side Palermo – TV shows created could ultimately go on to feature teams other than just City.
With the holding group also currently developing the Etihad Campus even further by expanding the stadium capacity and adding new leisure additions such as a hotel, museum, rooftop bar and stadium ‘sky-walk’, this is just the latest step in a series of big commerical steps for Man City.
Moveover, as the CFG are also heavily invested in the recently opened Co-op Live arena – which is inextricably linked to the football club located just a stone’s throw away – the City franchise looks to be moving closer and closer to becoming not just a football club but fully-fledged lifestyle brand.
Commenting on the launch of the collaboration, CFG’s CEO Ferran Soriano said: “We are incredibly excited to be collaborating with Sony Pictures Television [SPT] in this joint initiative.
“City Football Group is already a global entertainment company, and this initiative builds on our long-standing track record of innovation in the content space and the growth of City Studios in the last years. We will now take an even more dynamic approach to content production, and we are already developing several scripted and nonfiction series that will delight audiences globally.
“Bringing together the expertise of both CFG and SPT will enable us to create brilliant shows and remain at the forefront of football-led content production.”
SPT’s President of International Production, Wayne Garvie, went on to add: “Football is the great global game, no other sport produces so many heroes, tears and laughter, joy and heartbreak as football […] but the game always evolves and over the last decade City Football Group have become an unprecedented innovator and global leader.
“Our aim is to be part of the next evolution of the game, creating a new generation of innovative football-based entertainment to thrill the world.” It’s still unclear as to when the first of these new football-related TV shows will start rolling out but given the success of previous ventures they’re sure to prove popular.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/ykanazawa1999 (via Flickr)
Business
Popular coffee chain Blank Street to open third Manchester site at the Trafford Centre this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Popular coffee chain Blank Street is gearing up to open its third Manchester site at the Trafford Centre this weekend.
After becoming a common feature down in London, with sites now serving coffee lovers in all four corners of the capital, Blank Street went on to take Manchester by storm earlier this year as it opened doors to two cafes in our city centre – one in Piccadilly Gardens, followed by one on the corner of Cross Street and King Street.
It’s fair to say that Blank Street has earned itself a pretty loyal customer base since opening the doors to its first site back in 2022.
And those loyal customers will soon have a new Greater Manchester location to head on down to.
Popular coffee chain Blank Street is opening its third Manchester site at the Trafford Centre / Credit: Trafford Centre (via Facebook) | Blank Street (via Instagram)
The stunning new Trafford Centre site means Mancs will have another place to get their Blank Street coffee (or matcha) fix from, and not only that, but they’ll also be able to try out the new summer menu too – which apparently includes some of the brand‘s most “refreshing” offerings so far.
The new summer menu sees Blank Street move away from the classic milky base of its renowned Matcha Lattes and experiment with new flavours and lighter textures to provide an “instant hit of sunshine” regardless of the classic Manchester weather.
The Mango Passionfruit Matcha, Watermelon Matcha Spritz, and Yuzu Matcha Spritz are just some of the new menu additions, while the best-selling White Chocolate Matcha also remains.
Ignacio Llado, who is Blank Street’s UK Managing Director, says the company has been met with “such a warm reception” in Manchester already, and has been “so excited to hear that Mancs want more Blank Street locations.
“We’re so proud to announce that our third store will be at the iconic Trafford Centre,” Ignacio added.
“We’re excited to hopefully be fuelling shopping trips and hangouts with friends with our famous matchas and classic cold brew.”