International competition launched to find partner for £1.5bn scheme

The University of Manchester today (September 12) announced the competitive tender process has begun to find its development and investment partner to deliver the new world-class innovation district ID Manchester, which has an estimated gross development value of £1.5bn.

Prof Dame Nancy Rothwell, president and vice-chancellor of The University of Manchester, said: “ID Manchester will create a new, world-class innovation district situated in the heart of Manchester and alongside the university, where we will nurture the next generation of game-changing businesses and bring huge economic benefits to our city region and beyond.”

Together with the right partner the university will leverage the global reach of its commercial partnerships and research institutions, while matching it with the significant and connected innovation ecosystems already formed around the Oxford Road corridor.

ID Manchester will be a trailblazing neighbourhood that will be an engine for economic growth with the potential to create more than 6,000 jobs.

The university has a strong track record in developing long lasting, commercial relationships with leading global organisations such as Rolls Royce, the BBC, Siemens UK, Colgate Palmolive, Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Since 2004 the university has contributed £746m to the economy through nurturing and developing businesses spinning-out of its research and development facilities, and it is on these foundations it seeks to build ID Manchester.

Since it was presented at the international property exhibition MIPIM early this year, as part of its pre-market engagement, the university has increased the available development space for ID Manchester to four million square feet and updated indicative development plans include:

• 2.6 million sq ft of new work space
• Three acres of high-quality public realm

Diana Hampson, director of estates at The University of Manchester, said: “Our vision for ID Manchester was warmly received at MIPIM and since then we’ve hosted several open days, attended by around 120 people representing developers and investors.

“We have taken time to refine our proposition to enable interested partners to really understand the extent and scale of our ambition.

“ID Manchester will be a unique new neighbourhood. Our vision draws on Manchester’s eco-system of ideas, discovery, research and development, and ID Manchester will provide the canvas on which all those strands can come together to take urban regeneration to a whole new level.

“ID Manchester will be where our most valuable discoveries today are tried, tested and developed into the technology, buildings and commerce of tomorrow.”

The site benefits from existing green space and the unique feature of the 650,000 sq ft Grade II-listed Sackville Street Building, which offers a fantastic opportunity for re-purposing.

The university occupies the recently opened £60m Masdar Building, home to the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, and the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology at the south end of the site and is looking for a partner to develop the remaining 18 acres of the site.

Sackville Street Building

ID Manchester is adjacent to Manchester’s main public transport hub, Piccadilly railway station, and is a 20-minute train journey to the international airport.

It is one of the last major development opportunity sites in the city, another piece in the jigsaw of the major regeneration taking place in that area of the city, including Mayfield, London Road Fire Station, Kampus, Circle Square and the £1bn investment already being made into its main Oxford Road campus by The University of Manchester.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester City Council look forward to this exciting next step for ID Manchester. Not only will it lead to the regeneration of this distinctive part of the city but will further the city’s reputation as a place for pioneering innovation while creating thousands of jobs.”

The formal tender notice was published today in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and prospective joint venture partners from all over the world are invited to participate in a two-stage competitive dialogue process.

It is envisaged that the process will take around 12 months, with a partner announcement being made in Autumn 2020.