CBRE to hunt Airport City funders
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has appointed CBRE to find an international strategic funding and development partner for its £650m Airport City project.
The development, which was formally adopted as Greater Manchester’s Enterprise Zone in April, is a 150-acre site on which some 5m sq ft of property development is proposed, including new offices, logistics units, hotels, advanced nmanufacturing and retail/leisure units.
Chancellor George Osborne stated at the January launch that Airport City was one of the most advanced of the UK’s Enterprise Zone projects, and MAG chief executive Charlie Cornish has said that it expects to secure outline planning permission for the development this year.
MAG said that the appointment of CBRE will allow it to choose a developer partner by the end of summer.
Airport City director, John Atkins, said: “Standing out as the only airport city in the United Kingdom, this ambitious project is one of only a handful of schemes truly capable of competing on an international level.
“The expertise of CBRE will assist us in securing a strategic partner to work on Airport City and the Enterprise Zone and provides a statement of our intent in the marketplace for investors and international occupiers.”
CBRE will provide strategic advice to MAG to support the procurement of a strategic partner – or partners – for the scheme.
The CBRE running the project will include Stuart Eisenkraft (co-chairman for global cities), head of investment advisory Tony Martin and head of North West capital markets Colin Thomasson.
Mr Thomasson said: “We are delighted to have joined forces with MAG in order to identify a strategic funding partner for Airport City.
“It’s a large, long-term and unique scheme that we are sure will be of interest to major development partners involved in global development projects.”
