Century-old cotton mill to become new trading hub between China, Manchester

Hong Kong-based property development company G-Suite Holdings has won the go-ahead to convert a historic cotton mill in Manchester into a 75 million U.S. dollar international trade hub, it was announced Friday.

It will be the company's biggest ever project in Europe and will see new life breathed into the five-storey Warwick Mill in the one-time famous cotton-spinning town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester.

Warwick Mill, built in 1907 and underused for many years, is classified as a grade 2 listed heritage building by government cultural agency, Historic England.

The new scheme spans 19,000 square meters and is expected to create more than 200 new jobs in the town.

Rochdale Council announced Friday it has officially approved G-Suite's plans for the regeneration of the old mill in the town's Middleton district.

G-Suite's plans will see the mill converted into a facility where Chinese companies and those from emerging markets in Asia can exhibit and sell their goods in British and European markets, as well as helping local companies exploit new markets in Asia.

The development, known as Red Warwick, was recently launched in China, with 19 companies including several small-to-medium-sized enterprises and a global brand already signed up, say company officials.

The developers aim to start work on the project in early January with the scheme operational in early in 2017.

"Red Warwick will be home to an international trading hub that will develop the two-way relationship between Asia and the UK's Northern Powerhouse. Our unique trading model will bring the very best of Chinese and Eastern manufacturing to the independent retail and wholesale market," G-Suite director Robert Wong said.

The transformation of the mill will be G-Suite's third project in northwest England, but the company's largest so far anywhere in Europe. Endit