Meet Kim - Testimonial - L&Q at Victoria Riverside

Following a divorce, accountant Kim Henshall (30) found herself facing an unexpected question: where, and how, was she going to start again?

Having been renting a two-bedroom apartment in Manchester city centre for £1,450 a month with her ex, Kim knew she wanted the security of a home of her own. But with one-bedroom rents in the city costing upwards of £1,200 a month, and buying outright beyond her budget, leaving central Manchester began to feel like a possibility.

“I was going through a big life change already, and I really didn’t want to move away from Manchester on top of everything else,” Kim explains. “My friends and my life are here. Especially after a breakup, the last thing I wanted was to isolate myself by moving somewhere I didn’t know just because it was cheaper.”

Renting had also begun to take its toll. “Renting was driving me up the wall,” she recalls. “I was constantly going back and forth with estate agents about maintenance issues, and with two nervous cats, unexpected visits were never particularly welcome! I just wanted somewhere that felt like mine.”

Kim had previously been saving towards buying with her former partner, with money put aside in a Lifetime ISA. Following their separation, and with some additional help from her mum, she began looking at what she might be able to afford alone.

“I started properly looking around May 2026 and quickly realised how expensive Manchester had become,” she says. “Even renting another one-bedroom apartment was going to cost me a lot each month, and flat sharing wasn’t really an option with the cats. I wanted to find a way to stay in the city but have some security too.”

A conversation with a friend introduced Kim to Shared Ownership, leading her to discover L&Q at Victoria Riverside.

“For me, Shared Ownership was really the only way I could make buying work,” she explains. “I wouldn’t have been able to raise the deposit needed to buy outright on my own, and when I looked at the monthly costs, it was around what I would have been paying to rent anyway. Suddenly owning somewhere myself actually felt possible.”

L&Q at Victoria Riverside forms part of Victoria North, the North of England’s largest urban regeneration project, and sits within the emerging Red Bank neighbourhood on the edge of Manchester city centre. Led by FEC and Manchester City Council, the £4bn masterplan will deliver more than 15,000 homes across seven neighbourhoods over the next 15 years, alongside new green spaces, workplaces and community infrastructure. L&Q offers 128 Shared Ownership homes within an 18-storey building at Victoria Riverside, with resident-only amenities including a co-working lounge, concierge service, gym and landscaped podium garden.

On her first visit, Kim met Simon from the L&Q sales team, who showed her the different homes available within her budget: “Simon was brilliant – I loved him! He showed me everything within my affordability and when I walked into my apartment, I just got that gut feeling. I thought, this is it.”

Kim went on to purchase a one-bedroom Shared Ownership apartment, moving into her new home on 30^th July 2026.

“I was going from a two-bedroom rental to a one-bedroom home, but it never felt like I was downsizing,” she says. “There’s so much storage, the bedroom has this little alcove area and the whole apartment feels really spacious. It had everything I needed.”

Choosing a new build was another major attraction. After her experience renting, Kim loved the idea of being the first person to call the apartment home.

“I know it sounds silly, but I loved that nobody else had lived here before,” she reflects. “After renting, there’s something so nice about walking into somewhere completely fresh. Everything feels new and modern – almost futuristic – and I get to make it mine from the beginning.”

Her living room has quickly become her favourite space, and Kim has already begun welcoming friends into her new home: “My friends helped me move, so they got to see it straight away, and I’ve already done some hosting. Having somewhere that is actually mine and being able to invite everyone over feels really special.”

The wider development has also become part of Kim’s routine. She regularly works from the residents’ co-working lounge and has become a fan of the on-site gym.

“The gym is top tier – I’ll give them that! I use the residents’ lounge for work too, and the concierge team are so lovely and friendly. Everyone is really helpful, so there’s a nice sense of community here already.”

Most importantly, buying at Victoria Riverside has allowed Mancunian Kim to remain close to the Manchester lifestyle and support network she wasn’t prepared to leave behind.

“I couldn’t leave Manchester – I love living here,” she says. “Everything is so close. I can head into the Northern Quarter, meet friends at places like Bunny’s or Pixel Bar, and now St Catherine’s Wood has opened nearby too. You’ve got the city on your doorstep but green space as well, so it really is the best of both worlds.”

“After the divorce, there were obviously a lot of things I hadn’t expected to be figuring out on my own,” she reflects. “Being able to buy somewhere myself has given me that security again. I haven’t had to leave the city or give up the lifestyle I love – I’ve just got somewhere that’s mine now.”

“I was starting again, but I didn’t want that to mean leaving Manchester"