Scarborough secures Far East backing for major Salford scheme
SCARBOROUGH Development Group says it has secured Far East backing for its two schemes in Manchester and Salford – Middlewood Locks, and the smaller Milliners Wharf.
It has agreed a joint venture with with listed Hong Kong developer Top Spring International Holdings, and Metro Holdings, a Singapore-listed property development and investment group.
They are taking 25% each in a new company called FairBriar Properties that will develop the 23-acre Middlewood Locks scheme in Salford, which has space for 2,000 apartments and other uses, and the 145-apartment Milliners Wharf in Ancoats. It estimates the two schemes have a developed value of £600m, with most of that value in the Middlewood Locks site.
The value of their investment has not been disclosed but a spokesman for Scarborough said their initial investment and future support meant the first phase of Middlewood Locks and the next development at Milliners Wharf were funded.
Yorkshire-based Scarborough bought the Milliners Wharf site from Santander in 2009 a year after the bank took control of a half-built plot when developer City Lofts went into administration. It has consent for the second phase – two eight-storey blocks which will have 145 apartments.
Scarborough acquired the 23-acre Middlewood Locks site in 2012 from Grant Thornton which was administrator to former owner Valley & Vale Properties. Other than a block of flats close to the Manchester to Liverpool railway, the site, which sits across the River Irwell from Castlefield, is currently empty and grassed over.
It recently extended a permission which includes 1.5 million sq ft of residential, 700,000 sq ft of commercial space and 300,000 sq ft of leisure and retail. Scarborugh added a further two acres to the plot recently and said it is seeking planning consent for the extra space and plans to start on the first phase in the first half of next year.
Scarborough chairman Kevin McCabe said: “I have known and worked with the directors and management teams of Top Spring and Metro for many years through Scarborough’s extensive activities in China, and have the utmost respect for them.
“They are as excited as we are to be developing high-quality, new homes in one of the UK’s most vibrant, cosmopolitan and progressive regions. There is very strong demand for housing in the central Manchester area and, as in many parts of the UK, a shortage of supply, so we are confident that both our projects will be well received.”
Chun Hong Wong, chief executive of Top Spring, said: “We have worked extensively with Scarborough in the People’s Republic of China, over the last 10 years, and are pleased to be continuing our partnership with them in the UK, along with Metro, to deliver two high-quality residential developments in an area of the UK where there is a shortage of good-quality housing supply.”
Winston Choo Wee Leong, chairman of Metro Holdings, said: “These Manchester projects are Metro’s first foray into the UK real estate market, and with the Manchester residential market being particularly dynamic, we are confident that this investment will be a huge success. We are extremely pleased to be partnering with the Scarborough Group, a long-term trusted partner of both Top Spring and Metro, and a respected and experienced developer.”
Scarborough, which has its head office in Scarborough, is owned by Kevin McCabe who also has a stake in Sheffield United.
