Owners reveal what’s in store for Kendals
Conversion to offices planned for city’s historic high street giant
WITH its towering limestone facade and prominent Deansgate location, Kendals is one of Manchester’s most famous buildings.
Able to trace its origins back to 1832, it is also believed to be the oldest department store in the country.
But after a decade of decline for High Street retailers, accelerated by the pandemic, a new chapter in the building’s history is about to begin.
Owner Investec, an international banking giant, has submitted plans to revamp Grade II-listed Kendals into a high-end office development.
The proposal is to carry out a major renovation project which will include building a central atrium, creating new entrances at the rear, replacing the distinctive glass blocks to allow more light in, and adding a roof extension.
The work is expected to take three years and would also see the demolition of the King Street West multistorey car park and adjoining Fraser building to be replaced by a 14-storey office block and extended public realm.
Mickey Nurtman, a finance boss at Investec, hailed it as a ‘truly significant scheme,’ adding: “This is a major investment in the city of Manchester – it will create and retain jobs, and contribute to the region’s postCovid economic recovery.”
While the investment undoubtedly demonstrates further confidence in Manchester’s economy, it also represents another blow to the retail sector, not least the remaining employees of House of Fraser, thought to number around 500.
In a document submitted as part of the planning application, Investec’s architect’s Sheppard Robson gave a brutal assessment of the current state of the retail market.
“The decline of bricks and mortar retail has been well documented, and the building’s future use as a retail department store is not considered as viable in the context of the demonstrable change to high street trends in recent years.
“This has been particularly evidenced with the House of Fraser, where several of the floors have been mothballed even before the current pandemic crisis, and which has now entered administration.”
An Investec spokesperson added: “As a part of our commitment to sustainable investment, Investec are seeking to secure a long-term viable future for Kendals and the wider site. Definitive timescales for the regeneration of the buildings have not yet been established.”
A similar assessment of the future of retail department stores has been made at the Rylands building on Market Street where tenant Debenhams has gone into administration.
A £68.5million renovation plan has been approved for owners, AM Alpha, to provide a new shopping arcade at street level, along with several floors of new offices.
Kendals is expected to retain some retail at street level fronting onto Deansgate, where the council wants to permanently pedestrianise a stretch of the thoroughfare.
But the office overhaul constitutes an important turning point for the Art Deco building.
Although the Kendals store first took its name when it was bought by business partners, Kendal, Milne & Faulkner in 1836, the current extension was purpose built to be a department store in 1939.
The building therefore holds memories for generations of people in Greater Manchester.
Many will remember festive trips with the children to meet Father Christmas, makeovers, cut-price New Year sales and extravagant window displays.
The store was bought by Harrods in 1919 and briefly took on the famous Harrods name in the 1920s.
It was quickly changed back to Kendals after protests from staff and customers and House of Fraser bought out Harrods in 1959.
In 2005, the M.E.N revealed that House of Fraser chiefs planned to change the Kendals name to House of Fraser following a £25million refit – sparking an angry reaction from our readers. House of Fraser persevered with the change, albeit with the Kendals name still preserved in granite above the entrance.
If approved in the spring, work is due to get underway early in 2022.
House of Fraser has been approached for comment.