Salboy receives £100m development loan for 556-home Waterhouse Gardens scheme
Manchester developer, Salboy Group, has received a £100m loan to fund the development of its 556-home build-to-sell residential scheme on the former site of the Boddingtons Brewery on the northern edge of central Manchester.
Salboy acquired the site in December 2022, with the intention to develop a mixed-used scheme across five buildings, including a 20-storey tower, and a landscaped public realm.
ICG Real Estate, the real estate division of ICG, has provided the loan.
Located directly opposite Manchester Arena and Manchester Victoria station, Waterhouse Gardens is well situated to easily access the city’s core retail, leisure and employment districts by foot, including the vibrant Northern Quarter and Manchester College’s new city centre campus.
The completed scheme will provide a community of high spec apartments, duplex and penthouses.
Residents will have access to a private clubhouse offering high end amenities and services including a swimming pool, squash and basketball courts and a private cinema. The asset will be complemented by 30,000 sq ft of commercial space which will be home to boutique traders, independent restaurants and bars together with some office space. Construction of the scheme has begun with cores for each block now complete and completion still on track for 2026.
To date Salboy has delivered more than 3,500 homes in densely populated areas nationwide where demand for new, quality housing is high.
While active across the UK, many of Salboy’s schemes are delivered in Manchester and neighbouring city Salford, where the company was launched and has built strong local market knowledge.
The transaction supports ICG Real Estate’s strategy to fund the development of assets in sectors which are supported by compelling long term structural drivers such as the demand for new homes.
Jai Patel, Managing Director of ICG Real Estate, said: “This transaction offered us the opportunity to back a proven residential developer in a local market that they know incredibly well, in a sector where we have a long held conviction.
“Manchester’s local economy continues to offer great opportunities to its residents in terms of jobs, leisure and education and is a city we favour, with this being the second development deal we have agreed in the city in the past 18 months.
“We remain keen to focus our attention on significant transactions in the living space which align with our deep conviction calls and continue to be supported by strong underlying fundamentals.”
Simon Ismail, Salboy Managing Director, said: “By 2026 this scheme will deliver sought after city centre living for many of the thousands of students and young professionals that choose to stay in, relocate or return to Manchester every year to launch and progress their careers.”
