Lift-Financial founders Joel Adams and Michael Holden are the backers of Mana, the first Manchester restaurant to been awarded a Michelin Star in more than 40 years.
Adams and Holden, who head up corporate advisory and financial planning firm Lift-Financial, are co-directors of the restaurant, along with chef patron Simon Martin, 29, who opened Mana less than a year ago, since when it has received glowing reviews from national restaurant critics.
Mana is located in Manchester’s Ancoats area and marks the first time a restaurant in the city has held a Michelin Star since The French restaurant in the Midland Hotel in 1977.
Martin – who has previously worked at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London’s Chelsea and the iconic Copenhagen restaurant Noma – says: “We are hugely excited to receive a Michelin Star inside our first year. This is not only a landmark moment for Mana but also Manchester’s wider restaurant scene that will help to put the city on the menu for lovers of great food worldwide.”
“At Mana we set out to give our guests an unforgettable dining experience and to push the boundaries on food provenance, preparation and presentation. A Michelin Star is recognition of the exceptionally high standards we have set and we see this as just the start of the Mana story.”
Holden says: “As soon as we met Simon we knew Manchester was about to experience something very special. Simon’s passion is so infectious that we agreed a deal with him very quickly and couldn’t wait to see Mana become a reality.”
Adams says: “Manchester has been waiting for something like Mana for many years – this great city deserves a world-class restaurant that will attract visitors and really help put Manchester on the world food map”.
Mana is currently open for reservations through to the end of 2019, while reservations for next year will be available from 9am on 9th October.
