About Holmes Terry
An independent, family-run business managing office and retail space in Manchester since 1987.
A textiles building, reborn
Basil Chambers takes its name from the late Basil David, who operated a number of companies from 65 High Street between 1963 and 1990. Holmes Terry & Co. Ltd, named after Mr Holmes and Mr Terry, began life as a textiles company — and the building still carries traces of that history in its structure. Each floor once housed a different department: towels and sheeting on the first floor, hosiery and underwear on the second, shoes and outerwear on the third, clothing on the fourth, a staff canteen on the fifth, and building and general repairs on the sixth. The basement served as the packing area.
From textiles to tenants
Gerald David worked alongside Basil David from 1971, and later with Stanley Fosbury at Jo-Y-Jo Ltd, until leaving the company in 2003. Jo-Y-Jo Ltd vacated Basil Chambers in 2005, which set in motion a full refurbishment of the building. Over twelve months, floors one to six were converted from the old textiles departments into modern, self-contained office suites — completed in 2006. The sixth floor was kept as a single large suite, resembling a loft apartment, while the other floors were divided into smaller offices.
A building that still works
Today, Basil Chambers houses a mix of office tenants — spanning clothing companies, internet-related businesses, architects, structural engineers, and a modelling agency — alongside ground-floor tenants including a coffee bar, an Italian restaurant, two bar and restaurant venues, and a tattoo studio. The Nicholas Croft side of the building is one of the busiest walkways in central Manchester, bringing steady passing trade to those ground-floor businesses.
A personal, hands-on approach
Holmes Terry & Co. Ltd remains an independently managed business, with Brett Sadler as Building Manager overseeing the day-to-day running of Basil Chambers, and Gerald David continuing the company’s long association with the building.