Bank of Scotland agrees £20m deal with Ask to develop Manchester's Central Spine
Date: 22/11/2007
Source: Bank of Scotland
Ask Developments, one of the North West's leading commercial development companies, has secured a deal worth £20.5 million with Bank of Scotland Corporate to begin development work on Manchester city centre's Central Spine scheme.
Central Spine forms a 20-acre site on the southern edge of the city, and has been earmarked by Manchester City Council as one of the largest strategic development opportunities remaining in the city. Plans for the site include construction of a landmark tower, which together with the recently completed Beetham Tower, will form a gateway entrance to the heart of the city. In total, the site will incorporate 19 new buildings including 12 office/mixed, 2 car-parks, 3 residential, hotels and 1 large 'signature' tower, providing 3.2m sq ft of developable property.
Bank of Scotland Corporate's funding package will be used to fund the acquisition of 5.5 acres of land in the northern quartile of Central Spine which currently surrounds the former BT building at Grand Island, and also a second plot of land designated for the erection of 2 multi-storey car-parks. A portion of the facility will also be deployed to fund the construction of the site's first multi-storey car park.
The deal marks another step in very successful year for Bank of Scotland Corporate's Real Estate team in the North West. Other transactions completed this year include Tonstate (£29M), Sterling Goole (£55M), Targetfollow (£454M), Stannard Homes (£12M) and Mediacity:uk (£360M).
Ask Developments is presently involved in key profile sites including the development of Central Park business park in east Manchester, the regeneration of the former Boddington’s Brewery site and is completing the masterplan for the development of the Exchange Greengate site on the Salford / Manchester border.
Stephen Cliff, Development Director at Ask Developments said: “We are very excited about Central Spine, which we are confident will become a favourite destination for Mancunians and visitors alike. Our vision is for a dramatic new quarter to extend the heart of this great global city from the historic railway viaduct to the Mancunian Way and we are delighted that the Bank of Scotland share our enthusiasm for this scheme."
Paul Devenport, Director for Bank of Scotland Corporate Real Estate, said: "With the growth of Manchester's commercial property market showing no signs of abating, we saw this as an excellent opportunity to partner with a hugely influential property player on one of the city's landmark development sites. Our involvement in the Central Spine project offers us an excellent opportunity to continue raising our profile as a key funder of significant real estate projects in the North West.