Marrico and Roydhouse Properties have agreed a forward-funding deal for the 220,000 sq ft Central Square project on the site of the former Lumiere scheme in Leeds, as tipped by Estates Gazette.
M&G Real Estate has agreed to fund the project, which is expected to have a development value of £96m. PwC is taking a 55,000 sq ft pre-let.
Marrico will continue to act as development manager on behalf of M&G.
Construction began on the 11-storey office scheme earlier this year, with Roydhouse initially ufnding the project out of cash reserves before M&G and a traditional banking partner made offers to fund the scheme, based on the PwC deal.
M&G are understood to have been eyeing several sites in Leeds over the past year with an eye to tapping into the city’s acute shortage of grade-A office supply.
Completion is scheduled for May 2016.
M&G investment director Hugo Henkes said: “M&G Real Estate has successfully developed speculative office developments in several major regional cities. We have been searching for opportunities in the Leeds market for some time and believe this scheme will meet the requirements of many national and international businesses currently in the market.”
JLL is marketing the site.
