Morgan Sindall has been appointed preferred contractor for the £67.9m redevelopment of Salford Business School in Manchester, which will create a new purpose-built facility as part of the wider transformation of the University of Salford campus.
The project involves demolishing the existing Crescent House building and replacing it with a 79,500 sq ft home for the Business School. The new facility is intended to provide modern teaching and learning accommodation, alongside spaces where students, businesses and the wider community can meet, collaborate and develop ideas.
The development forms part of the 240-acre Crescent Salford masterplan, a major regeneration programme led by ECF, the partnership between Muse, L&G and Homes England’s National Housing Bank, working alongside Salford City Council and the University of Salford. The Business School is being funded by the University and represents a significant investment in the future of the campus and its relationship with the surrounding city.
Morgan Sindall will initially work with the project’s design team during a pre-construction period scheduled to run until March 2027. Subject to planning consent, construction is expected to begin in April 2027, with the completed building targeted for spring 2029.
Steven Gregory, North West area director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “Salford is changing fast, and the University is at the heart of that change.
“The Business School will give students, local businesses and the community a place to learn, meet and develop ideas together, and we’re proud to be helping build it.”
The Business School is one of several developments planned to modernise the University’s estate and support the wider Crescent Salford regeneration programme. Elsewhere on campus, proposals to refurbish the Faraday building have received planning approval. The building, which has been vacant for several years, will be converted into approximately 3,500m² of flexible workspace for the University’s professional services teams.
The Faraday refurbishment and the progress of a new acoustics laboratory form part of the broader programme to strengthen the campus as a centre for education, research and business engagement.
Charlie Alcroft, development manager at ECF, said: “The Business School is the next major step for Crescent Salford, following planning approval for Faraday and the progress being made on the acoustics laboratory.
“Bringing a new home for business education onto the Crescent will draw more students, businesses and visitors into this part of the city and help connect the campus with the communities around it.”
