We all know that Manchester’s property scene has gone wild in the last few years – so the chance to own your own furnished luxury apartment for only £4.99 sounds almost too good to be true.
But it’s really happening, with a new competition where the top prize is a two-bedroom apartment right in the city centre.
The stunning flat overlooking Angel Meadows, valued at £350k, could be yours for only £4.99. I know. Unreal.
This InstaWin competition is going to allow one lucky winner to live mortgage-free in Manchester, with all the best bits of our brilliant city centre on the doorstep.
If the winner doesn’t want the apartment, there’s a £250k cash alternative up for grabs, transferred directly into your bank.
And 2,000 runners-up will receive prizes worth £170k in total, with top prizes of £10k tax-free cash.
So back to that pad. Tucked in the beautiful new NOMA quarter, the flat is inside the Meadowside development, a short walk from Manchester landmarks and green space.
Inside the luxury Manchester apartment you could win
You’ll be a 10-minute walk from Manchester Victoria and not much further from the Manchester Arndale, as well as cultural landmarks like Manchester Art Gallery and the Central Library.
You’ll also have brilliant local pubs like The Marble Arch and The Angel right outside, and food hotspots like Mackie Mayor and Ramona just a short walk away.
The dog-friendly apartments come with residents-only amenities including free tea and coffee in the lounge, a top-quality gym and yoga space.
It’s within The Gate building in the £235m residential development of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.
All apartments feature a video door entry system, a concierge service, CCTV, lockable bike storage and more.
Elite Competitions will also give you £10,000 worth of furniture.
Communal space in the two-bedroom flat you could winThe gym at the Manchester apartment, which is off Angel Meadows
If the lucky winner chooses to rent out the flat, they can expect to bring in about £2,500 per month in rental income.
Elite Competitions will cover all fees and stamp duty on the property.
To be in with a chance to win the £350k apartment for only £4.99, you just need to purchase a ticket here.
If your number(s) match any of the InstaWin prizes, you’ll become an InstaWinner, and will be entered into the main draw for the apartment.
The more tickets you buy, the greater the chance you’ll have to win, and you can win more than one prize if multiple numbers match InstaWin prizes.
You can have a maximum of 10,000 entries into the competition to win a Manchester apartment
The draw takes place on Sunday 31 December at 3pm.
Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
Daisy Jackson -
3rd December 2023 
