The 246-metre tower will include a 160-room hotel, 452 privately-owned serviced residences and a high-end restaurant
Ketsuda Phoutinane Spare Time Content Editor
06:19, 27 Jan 2026
(Image: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis, Corbis via Getty Images)
One of the masterminds behind the UK’s newest skyscrapers is none other than Robert De Niro. Not just a Hollywood icon, the actor is the co-founder and co-owner of Nobu, a global luxury brand.
Once finished, the 76-storey Nobu Manchester structure will dwarf the current tallest building outside London — Deansgate Square’s South Tower — and claim the title of the country’s third tallest.
The 246-metre tower will house a 160-room hotel, 452 private serviced apartments and a Nobu restaurant. Construction on the £350million development is scheduled to commence this year, with completion anticipated before 2030.
“I look forward to coming back when it is finished, if not before,” the star said in November 2025, per the BBC. “I think it is going to take six years and I plan to be around.”
Nobu Manchester(Image: Nobu)
He added: “I haven’t seen the city yet but I’d like to come back. Everyone is very nice, we’re having a very nice time. It’s great being here in Manchester because it has real character, we’re proud to be part of it.”
Nobu Manchester development
Nobu Manchester represents the company’s first hotel and residential venture in Britain. Manchester’s restaurant will serve as the firm’s second British branch following Nobu London.
The project also features a secondary building, a 23-storey tower on Manchester’s Great Bridgewater Street. The building will feature 133 residences targeting the affordable housing sector.
According to the BBC, Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig remarked: “It’s not everyday you watch Robert De Niro take out an apartment in Deansgate is it?”
Nobu founders Meir Teper, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro (Image: WireImage)
She praised the venture as a “symbol that international businesses are choosing Manchester”, stating: “It is a boost — we’ve said for a long time we wanted to be a world-class city and if you want to be a world-class city you’ve got to get global names.
“The fact we are seeing global names — not just actors — but global businesses that only go to cities where they will be successful is a big boost for Manchester.”
What is Nobu?
The Nobu empire started life as a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant by De Niro, chef Nobu Matsuhisa, and businessman Meir Teper in 1994.
When the actor, who regularly dined at Matsuhisa’s Los Angeles establishment, initially suggested launching a restaurant partnership in the late ’80s, the chef declined. However, Matsuhisa eventually warmed to the concept and a celebrity hotspot was born.
Decades on, Nobu continues to attract A-listers including Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah, David and Victoria Beckham, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian.
The hospitality empire has grown to encompass more than 50 restaurants and 40 hotels globally.