MMU appoints DTZ to sell surplus sites

MANCHESTER Metropolitan University (MMU) has appointed DTZ to advise it on the future of a number of surplus sites in its portfolio.

The university is nearing completion of a £350m investment in its campus which has consolidated all of its teaching activities around two sites in Manchester and Cheshire. In Manchester, it will operate from the All Saints Campus on Oxford Road and the new site under construction at Birley Fields.

As a result, it has a number of sites now deemed surplus to requirements. DTZ’s appointment follows a competitive tender process, and it will devise a strategy for future uses as well as handling a phased programme of bringing sites to market.

The buildings within the portfolio to be redeveloped and/or sold off include the Aytoun St campus in Manchester city centre, the Didsbury campus, the Elizabeth Gaskell site and the Hollings site in Fallowfield, as well as much of the University’s site at Alsager in Cheshire.

MMU’s deputy director of finance, Ryan Keyworth said: “The process of rationalising the estate is an important step for the university. Now is the right time to develop our plans for the future of the surplus assets.”

John Keyes, lead director, at DTZ, said: “We are very pleased to be advising the university in this important and exciting role.

“The surplus sites are important assets for the university but also important assets for the local community and it will be vital that appropriate uses are found for the future.”