Fred Done’s property business aims high with plans for Manchester’s tallest tower

Salboy Group, the property development and funding company founded by bookmaker Fred Done is to start a public consultation process, in conjunction with DOMIS, its dedicated construction partner, for its Viadux scheme in central Manchester. 

Phase Two of the scheme would see a 76-storey residential tower aimed at international buyers, which it is revising upwards, making it the largest the city will have ever known.

A second building will stand at 23-storeys tall creating what the developer claims will be “around 130 brand new affordable homes” across a range of tenure types that “could include” shared ownership and affordable rental. 

Simon Ismail

Simon Ismail, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Salboy, comments: “City centres throughout the UK are facing the same falling demand for office space, but in Manchester that decline is being hugely outweighed by the ever-growing demand for high quality homes. When you are developing schemes like Viadux that will take years to come to fruition, being tenacious and adaptable is critical for success. 

“We are excited to reveal new plans that will complete the Viadux masterplan and deliver a neighbourhood of high quality, design-led homes that meet Manchester’s substantial need for accommodation at a range of price points and tenure types. Viadux Phase Two will deliver on that demand, while at the same time bringing to the Manchester cityscape a crowning feature that offers panoramic views of a city rich in heritage and sympathetic regeneration.”

Construction of Phase One, which comprises a 40-storey tower of 364 apartments, began in 2020 and is scheduled for practical completion in spring of 2024. By November 2023, more than 95% of Phase One properties had been sold or reserved.

Salboy’s Simon Ismail was with Gary Neville, the footballer turned businessman, in Hong Kong and the Middle East last week pitching their lofty ambitions on the W Residences as part of their St Michael’s project. Neville is not involved in Viadux.