Aviva Investors has teamed up with Allied London to create Enterprise City at the new St John’s neighborhood in Manchester.
Aviva has initially agreed to stump up £300m in funding for the new city neighborhood.
The wider St John’s neighbourhood development, built on the former site of Granada television studios, has a total investment value of more than £1.25bn.
Once completed, Enterprise City will comprise more than 1m sq ft of commercial mixed-use space, including workspace, TV and film studios, hotel/leisure and various property infrastructure across 10 buildings.
Daniel McHugh, managing director of real estate investments at Aviva Investors, said: “This deal is fully aligned with our focused investment strategy and demonstrates our scale and expertise to fulfil large conviction-led investments in high-quality real estate assets.
Michael Ingall, owner and chief executive of Allied London, added: “Enterprise City is a concept Allied London has envisioned from scratch. Within 18 months, we have created something of significant value and importance for both Manchester’s business community and the wider North West region.”
Aviva was previously in talks with Allied London to fund Nickel & Dime, two 36-storey PRS towers in the St John’s neighbourhood. However, those talks did not progress.
Manchester City Council granted planning permission for the Old Granada Studio development in May. The revised application supported Allied London’s proposals to retain and refurbish the original site, as well as incorporating new workspace elements.
Aviva Investors was advised by CBRE.
To send feedback, e-mail anna.ward@egi.co.uk or tweet @annaroxelana or @estatesgazette
