Ares Management has signed a funding agreement with Capital & Centric and Henry Boot Developments to build a £200m PRS scheme in Manchester city centre.
Kampus, a 50-50 joint venture between Capital & Centric and Henry Boot, will comprise one of the UK’s largest forward-funded PRS schemes. It will provide more than 550 one- and two-bedroom flats across two new-build blocks and two restored historic mill buildings.
The developers also plan to convert a 1960s office tower, complete with a new roof terrace.
The 500,000 sq ft residential and leisure scheme will include new public squares, a preserved cobbled street and canal frontage that will link more than 20 new bars, restaurants and cafés.
It comes just weeks after Ares Management went under offer to buy 300,000 sq ft of offices at Three and Four Piccadilly Place, for around £118m, a 5.7% yield.
Lothbury Investment Management had previously been tipped as the forward funder for Kampus, but early talks failed to progress.
The site, formerly Manchester Metropolitan University’s Aytoun Street campus, was acquired by Capital & Centric and Henry Boot in March 2014. It is close to Piccadilly station, where an HS2 station is due to open in 2032.
A strategic framework for the scheme was adopted in June.
Kampus is one of a wave of PRS schemes launched in Manchester over the past year, as developers look to profit from the nascent sector.
Recently unveiled schemes include Patrizia and Ask Real Estate’s 624-home tower at First Street, Grainger and Amstone’s 614-home scheme at Clippers Quay and Glenbrook’s 232-home scheme in Castlefield.
CBRE acted for Capital & Centric and Henry Boot; Ares was unrepresented.
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