This November, the founders of Nobu Hospitality joined Salboy and Domis under the Victorian arches beside Deansgate to mark the groundbreaking of a new mixed use tower in Manchester.
The ceremony took place on the brownfield site that will become a 76 storey, 246 metre landmark, bringing together a signature restaurant, a 160 room hotel and 452 branded residences in a single development. Once complete, it will be the tallest building in the UK outside London and home to the first Nobu branded residences in the country.
Manchester – City of Firsts
Opening the event, Simon Ismail, CEO and co founder of Salboy, spoke about what the project means for the partners and for the city.
He described the scheme as “the jewel in their portfolio” and set out a shared ambition to create something that genuinely raises the bar for Manchester.
Reflecting on the city’s heritage of innovation, he said:
“The Manchester cityscape has transformed beyond all recognition in the last thirty years. And in the last decade, Salboy has been proud to be a huge contributor to that ongoing project of regeneration and restoration – and we do so without ever forgetting the industrial heritage that goes back centuries and put Manchester on the map in the first place.
First being the important word here in the city of firsts:
World’s first home computer, World’s first transport hotel, We split the atom
And under these very arches was home to the world’s first passenger train station.
We are pioneers of innovation; we always look at ways to continue our rich legacy of creativity and progression.”
said Simon Ismail, CEO and co founder, Salboy.
Looking ahead to completion, he spoke about the experience he wants to create for future guests and residents:
“I want people to feel the same way they do when they walk into a brand new hotel in Dubai, Hong Kong, New York or London. When this is finished, people are going to walk in and they will be wowed by it. I promise you, they will be wowed by every single inch of this development.”
Councillor Bev Craig: Manchester’s story of change
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, placed the project in the context of the city’s long term transformation and global ambitions.
“For those of you who do not know Manchester’s story, we are a city that has changed the world in generations past. Our commitment is that we will help change the world in the future too,”
said Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council.
Reflecting on Manchester’s recent growth, she continued:
If you had said, thirty years ago, that we would be standing here with the skyscrapers that we see, with the fastest growing economy in the UK, consistently since 2018, achieving levels of economic growth faster even than London; if you had said that our digital and creative economy would generate over £8 billion GVA into the UK economy, that we would be a growing leader in AI with the highest number of AI employees per business in the UK, that we would have a growing life sciences industry that is internationally competitive, that we would lead the way in advanced materials and manufacturing, and be home to one of the fastest growing fintech economies in Europe, people might have looked at you like you had been having a little bit too much fun at the weekend.
But the reality is, this is the Manchester that we have created today. When people who went before me set out on the journey of changing the skyline and transforming our economy, some of the people you see in this room played an exemplary role in that.”
She linked this broader success directly to the significance of the scheme:
“Because Manchester has always had great things. The question has been, why can we not combine the ambition of world class excellence with creating opportunity for everyone across our city?
That is what today’s launch is about. We have been pitching ourselves for some time as a fast growing, world leading, world class city. But the reality is, until we drive up quality, until we have the ambition to create wonderful, high quality and beautiful things for people to enjoy, we will always be lacking.
I think that is why this project is such an exciting prospect to welcome to our city. Having top class excellence at the heart of our hospitality, in a beautifully designed building that pays homage to our industrial heritage, is exactly what a world class city should be about.”
Looking ahead, she emphasised how developments of this calibre contribute to the city’s future:
“So I look forward to working together in the future to break new boundaries and to create new and exciting opportunities. I want to thank Salboy and Nobu for joining us here at this fantastic event, because this is what Manchester is about: the ambition to never stop looking forward and to never stop trying to create a world class city.
It is moments like this that say to me, as Leader of the Council, that Manchester is getting there.”
A new chapter for the Nobu in the UK
For Nobu Hospitality, the move into Manchester represents an important evolution of its presence in the UK – extending beyond restaurant and hotel into a fully integrated place to stay and live in the heart of the city.
At the ceremony:
- Robert De Niro, Nobu Founder, reflected on Manchester’s character and energy and the significance of bringing the brand to the city.
- Meir Teper, Nobu Founder, spoke about the almost three decades since the group opened its first UK restaurant in London and how this scheme marks the next chapter.
- Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Nobu Founder, captured the spirit of the occasion, describing Manchester as: “a city with great spirit and great energy.”
Watch the full event video below:
Designing a landmark for the Manchester skyline
Ian Simpson, Founder Partner at SimpsonHaugh, discussed how the building responds to the character of the site and the wider city.
Set beside Deansgate and the Castlefield viaducts, the scheme will transform around 40,500 square feet of underused land into a new focal point on the Manchester skyline, tying historic infrastructure into a contemporary tower.
“What is really exciting about the building is that we enter at ground level, using the old arches as the gateway to the development, and then the tower itself rises from that,”
said Ian Simpson, Founder Partner, SimpsonHaugh.“The way the surfaces undulate will reflect the city. These surfaces will also reflect the sky. This will be the pinnacle, the marker for everything that happens around it.”
First keys to Nobu Residences Manchester
One of the most memorable moments of the ceremony came when Simon Ismail presented the first set of keys for Nobu Residences Manchester.
Handed over beneath the Grade II listed arches that will be home to the new restaurant, the keys marked the first homes in the UK’s first Nobu branded residential tower and signalled the move from planning and design into full delivery on site – an open invitation to the founders to return to Manchester as the project progresses.
Looking ahead to 2026
With enabling works now under way, the focus for Salboy, Domis, Nobu Hospitality and the wider design team has shifted firmly to delivery and the detailed work that will shape the completed scheme.
There is still much to reveal, from interiors and amenity spaces to how the restaurant, hotel and residences will come together within the arches and tower.
As Simon Ismail put it:
“We have so much more to share. The teams are hard at work in the background, cooking up something truly special to showcase our restaurant, hotel and residences in Manchester, the city of firsts.”
Watch this space as work progresses towards the launch in 2026.
