Realty to bring forward mixed-use scheme for BBC site

MANCHESTER-based developer Realty Estates will look to bring forward a mixed-use development on the BBC’s current site at Oxford Road that will include retail, leisure, office and potentially residential elements.

“We’re still in negotiations with the council, and my architects and advisors will meet with the council again shortly. We will know more in two to three weeks,” the company’s director, Yousef Tishbi said.

“There’s been a lot of interest in it from different end users,” he said, before adding that the office element is likely to be aimed at technology companies – in line with the council’s own plans for a science and tech-related cluster to be developed along Oxford Road between the universities and the city centre.

Mr Tishbi declined to comment on how much he’d paid for the site, stating that “it doesn’t really matter” whether it was more or less than the reported price of £10m.

“It is the trophy site of Manchester city centre,” he said. “Where else can you find five and-a-half acres in the city centre that is close to the students, hospitals and office buildings?” he asked.

Mr Tishbi added that Realty would be some way off producing a planning application to redevelop the site, particularly given that the BBC will remain as a sitting tenant for another year.

However, he added that a planning application to redevelop the Gateway House scheme at Piccadilly Approach was “more or less sorted out” and is likely to be submitted imminently.

He also said that progress was being made at the former Boddingtons brewery site – a joint venture with Ask Developments where a Travelodge hotel is currently under construction, but said that its continued development was dependent on signing deals with other occupiers.

“All of these sites are subject to the demands of the market,” he said. “This is not a market where you develop anything major without a pre-let.”

Newly-filed accounts for Realty Estates show that the firm witnessed a slight increase in turnover to £6.8m and although pre-tax profits dipped they remained healthy at around £2.8m (£3.6m). Net assets also climbed to £34.2m, from £28.9m a year earlier.