Empty iconic Stockport pyramid could become curry house and banquet hall

After standing empty for over five years, Stockport’s iconic pyramid could be transformed into a top Indian restaurant and banquet hall.

Mahoob Hussain, the owner of award-winning restaurant chain Royal Nawaab — famous for its serving its dishes in Levenshulme for a number of years — is considering the SK4 pyramid as its second home in South Manchester.

Mr Hussain confirmed talks over a deal with the owners of the towering landmark.

He told the Manchester Evening News the company wants to transform the pyramid into ‘its next home in the North West’ with talks apparently being in the ‘advanced stage’.

Royal Nawaab currently has two restaurants in London, one being in the Hover Building in Ealing and another in Ilford, East London.

The Nawaab restaurant and banqueting hall, which was based on Stockport Road in Levenshulme and opened on the site of a former cinema in 2003,  was a popular choice for Asian cuisine, but closed earlier this year and is now Merzee.

The news would create a huge boost for Stockport, which has already seen a huge regeneration and recently won Greater Manchester’s town of culture 2023, giving a new lease of life to Stockport’s famous but empty building.

Based on Yew Street, the pyramid — which can be seen from the M60 motorway — began construction in the late eighties, opening its doors in 1992.

It was the first of what was meant to be five pyramids along the River Mersey to create Manchester’s own Valley of the Kings, in a nod to ancient Egypt.

However, the developers fell into bankruptcy and Stockport was left with just the one pyramid. The Co-op, who paid for its construction, repossessed the structure which then lay empty for a few years.

The Co-op moved in from 1995, using it as a base for one of their call centres. But it moved out in 2018, relocating to the NONA development in Manchester city centre.

The iconic blue pyramid comprises of an 86,000 sq ft of office space which spreads over four floors and has 426 on-site car parking spaces at the 4.5 acre site.

In May 2019, news of the building’s purchase by Saudi Arabian investor Eamar Developments (UK) was confirmed. Co-op put the structure on the market the summer before with an asking price of more than £4.5m.

The Royal Nawaab would be the first tenants of the building’s new owner.

Mr Hussain told the Manchester Evening News in a statement: “At this stage, I am unable to say anything other than that Royal Nawaab is indeed considering the Pyramid as its next home in the north west.

“Our focus is on continually exploring exciting opportunities that align with our vision and values. We are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences to our customers and contributing positively to the local community.

“As soon as there are concrete developments to share, we will be pleased to provide you with further information.”