The team responsible for the Sharp Project in Manchester is putting the finishing touches to a new £10m, drama-focused studio facility.

The Space Project, which will offer five studios ranging in size from 8,891 sq ft to 11,194 sq ft, will be handed over by builders at the end of next month, with the first production expected to be based there from June.

Along with room for production offices, the 360,000 sq ft complex will have space for seven longterm tenants.

A shortlist of companies that provide ancillary services to the industry and are keen to be based at the West Gorton site will be drawn up this week.

Project director Sue Woodward said: “We want to create an ecology that is similar to the Sharp Project.”

The selected companies are expected to be in place at the Space Project by the end of June.

Woodward added that she expects the studio facility to be running at full utilisation within three years.