Argent has walked away from its role as development manager of the £1bn Airport City Manchester project.
The 5m sq ft, 160-acre site is owned by a joint venture between Manchester Airports Group, Carillion, Beijing Construction Engineering Group and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund. The jv is now creating a new in-house development management team and has begun a search for a new managing director and a sales and marketing director.
Argent was never an investor in the scheme and it is now focusing on its other projects. Since its appointment in 2013 it has formed a partnership with US-regeneration company Related and taken on two major regeneration projects in London – Brent Cross South, a 192-acre site being redeveloped in joint venture with Barnet Council; and a new district in Tottenham Hale that will deliver 2,000 homes.
It has also made the Mayfield Partnership’s long-list for the £550m development of a 24-acre derelict site in Manchester near Piccadilly station.
David Partridge, managing partner at Argent, said “We are happy to have supported the Airport City joint venture through its early years and to have established a sound platform from which the scheme can continue to develop. We look forward to the continued success of the venture.”
Part of the Manchester Enterprise Zone, Airport City will be one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects once completed and will include offices, hotels, advanced manufacturing and logistics facilities.
Infrastructure work is currently underway and development of the first buildings in the north of the site is expected to start before the end of the year. At the end of last year Amazon agreed to prelet a 654,000 sq ft warehouse at Airport City.
Lynda Shillaw, MAG Property chief executive, said: “Building upon the very positive momentum achieved to date, we are stepping up our focus on deals.”
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