Manchester is becoming an increasingly popular destination for European investors, with the rate of development building as the government presses forward with its “Northern Powerhouse” goal. Hoping to capitalise upon this is German real estate investment firm Patrizia Immobilien AG, which has this week purchased the 20 acre First Street development from Ask Developments.
The investment company has taken ownership of the development, which includes the recently completed first phase at the site’s north end along with the future development phases, in a deal which is rumoured to be worth several million although the exact sum is yet to be disclosed. Ask Developments will remain in place as development manager throughout the project, meaning it will continue to be involved in one of Manchester’s most hotly anticipated city centre regeneration projects.
In order to facilitate the deal, Patrizia Immobilien struck the deal with Ask Developments through its British based subsidiary, known as Patrizia UK. The ongoing project and development management will be conducted by the firm’s London office, which is one of only 8 offices the Deutsche Borse listed company controls outside of Germany – other locations include Stockholm, Paris, Madrid and Copenhagen.
Managing director of Ask Developments’ real estate division, John Hughes, believes that the involvement of Patrizia UK in the development of First Street will prove beneficial to the overall project.
He says; “As a Manchester focused development company, we are looking forward to continuing our work on First Street with PATRIZIA UK to deliver the next phases of development.
“We are very proud of having brought the first phase of this major transformational scheme to completion in partnership with Manchester City Council, and we look forward to continuing our excellent working relationship with Manchester City Council and forging a new one with PATRIZIA.”
So far, the 20 acre gateway site has benefited from the opening of a 180,000 square foot Grade A office building known as Number One First Street, which has already welcomed high profile tenants including Auto Trader, Ford Credit Europe, Jacobs and Gazprom.
Melia International also operates the new 208 bedroom, four star hotel under its Inside brand, while consumers have been able to enjoy the launch of nine new food and beverage outlets and extensive improvements to the public realm under phase one of the scheme.
The next few phases are set to build upon this early success and will see a new commercial neighbourhood established in Manchester, with up to 500 new PRS apartments expected to increase the amount of housing available for workers and would-be residents of the city centre.
In addition, First Street will add to its existing office portfolio by creating around 1 million square feet of sustainable, high quality campus style office buildings along with numerous retail and leisure units designed to provide an all-round mixed use development in line with the city council’s regeneration desires.
Hopefully, the continuation of the project under Patrizia UK’s ownership will allow for further international interest in Manchester and boost the city’s prestige for firms seeking a foothold there.
Do you think the involvement of such a prestigious real estate firm will encourage future investors to consider Manchester?
