Peel secures funding for Salford Quays mediacity:uk

    Peel Holdings has secured £360m of funding for its mediacity:uk scheme in Salford Quays, just outside Manchester city centre.   The funding, provided by the Bank of Scotland, will be used for the first phase of the 200-acre mixed-use scheme, which will provide 7m sq ft of offices, retail, leisure and residential.   The initial phase will include: 535,000 sq ft of offices, 224,400 sq ft of broadcast studios, a 40,000 sq ft post production studio, a 3 star hotel with 206 bedrooms, 371 residential apartments, 35,000 sq ft of leisure and retail space and 2,000 car park spaces.   Mediacity:uk will become the new home to the BBC in the North West, which will relocate 1,500 staff from London and 800 staff currently based on Oxford Road in Manchester. The development will also house other media and technology industries and bring them together with universities and skills providers.   The scheme is being developed by a partnership between Peel Holdings, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company and Salford city council.   The consortium expects Mediacity:UK to act as a catalyst for the growth of the creative and media industries in the region.   Steven Underwood, corporate development director at Peel Holdings, said: “We are delighted to have secured the funding from Bank of Scotland, which represents a key milestone in the delivery of the mediacity:uk project.”   In August, Cushman & Wakefield was appointed lead agent for the scheme.   Work on phase one has already begun and is scheduled for completion in December 2010.   helen.roxburgh@egi.co.uk