John Hughes’s Ask Developments has sold one of Manchester’s flagship development projects to German investor Patrizia Immobilien.
Patrizia has purchased Ask Developments’ 20-acre partially developed First Street project, which has capacity for a further 1m sq ft of office development and 500 flats.
The purchase of the £500m scheme represents Patrizia’s entrance into the UK PRS market, and will serve as the foundation for a dedicated UK PRS fund.
The site is already home to the 180,000 sq ft No 1 First Street – where Jacobs, Auto Trader, Ford Credit Europe and Gazprom are based – and a 208-bed Melia Innside hotel.
Hughes said: “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.”
Patrizia already manages 80,000 European flats worth around €7bn (£5bn).
It will build out the site over the next five to seven years. The transaction is expected to complete in Q2 2015.
Patrizia UK managing director James Muir said: “We have been carefully implementing our strategy of investing in high-growth locations across the UK. With this investment, our property assets under management in the UK now amount to more than a billion pounds.
“Driven by attractive economic and demographic fundamentals in Manchester, and the growing trend for urbanisation, we are anticipating strong demand for this centrally located, high-quality accommodation which will be tailored to the private rental sector.
“Together with the new commercial buildings we expect to create an attractive investment opportunity for institutional investors. We see this project as an ideal first investment for our planned PATRIZIA UK PRS Fund.”
