Former Manchester United stars Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville have struck a deal with the Singaporean billionaire owner of Valencia Football Club and a Chinese state-owned construction company to back their £200m development project in Manchester.
The formation of the new joint venture with property mogul Peter Lim, revealed by EGi on Wednesday, is the latest in a frenzy of Asian-funded development in Manchester (see below). Lim took over Spanish football giant Valencia in 2014 and is worth $1.8bn (£1.2bn), according to Forbes.
Singapore-listed development company Rowsley, in which Lim has a controlling interest, has purchased a 75% stake in the 500,000 sq ft Bootle Street project for £40m, with Beijing Construction and Engineering Group taking a 21% share.
Neville’s 2% ownership will be held in his Relentless Investments vehicle and Giggs’ 2% in his RGJR company.
Giggs’ and Neville’s Jackson’s Row Development Company will stay on as lead development manager and will work alongside consultant Zerum.
The project, which includes a five-star hotel, shops, leisure, residential and offices, will be renamed St Michael.
Manchester city council has granted a leasehold title of 250 years, with a planning framework to be presented to the executive next month and a three-year construction timetable commencing in 2016.
It covers the former Bootle Street Police Station, the adjoining United Reform synagogue, the Abercrombie pub and a parcel of open land on Jackson’s Row.
Rowsley is also paying £29.1m for a 75% stake in each of the three companies holding the assets of Hotel Football, Café Football and hotel management company GG Collections.
The companies were founded by Neville, Giggs and former Manchester United teammates Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. Lim already owned a stake in the hotel and he also shares ownership of Salford City Football Club with the footballers.
Mad for Manchester
Manchester is fast becoming a magnet for Asian investors. BCEG already backs the £800m Manchester Airport City project, while Abu Dhabi United Group has formed a £1bn venture with the council. Apache Capital is seeding its £1bn regional PRS venture with Moda Living with a project at NOMA, and Scarborough Group has secured backing from Hong Kong-listed Top Spring International Holdings and Singaporean Metro Holdings for £600m of Greater Manchester projects. The Bottle Street deal follows prime minister David Cameron’s recent trade mission to Singapore, where he urged the region’s investors to consider the UK’s northern powerhouse.
chris.berkin@estatesgazette.com
