Joint venture deal for MEN Arena
THE new owner of the Manchester Evening News Arena has revealed a new joint venture and financing deal for the facility.
Development Securities, the property development and investment company paid £62.2m for the 21,000-seater concert and sports venue in June.
It announced a joint venture and funding deal with investment firm Patron Capital Partners, which will it retaining just a 30% stake in the deal..
In a statement to the Stock Market, Development Securities said: “The joint venture will be funded by Patron and by Development Securities, who have been retained to undertake the asset management of the property and who will be retaining a 30% share of the joint venture.
“The joint venture has secured long term financing with a £47.5m loan to facilitate the acquisition and refinancing.”
The deal will not affect the day-to-day operations of the award-winning complex as the facility is operated by SMG Europe.
It is not known how much longer the 15-year-old facility will be known as the Manchester Evening News Arena. Development Securities said last week that the sponsorship with the newspaper expires soon.
A spokesperson said: “The rights expire shortly. There are various discussions going on within the organisation regarding the rights.”
