Council strikes £2m Allied London deal
IT has emerged Manchester City Council bought an old warehouse on Quay Street from Spinningfields developer Allied London for £2m, plus VAT of £400,000, in February.
The authority’s newly-filed accounts for the year to April confirm it bought the site, next to the Marriott Victoria & Albert hotel by the River Irwell, which is referred to as Albert’s Shed, although it has nothing to do with the Castlefield restaurant of the same name.
Three years ago the council bought two development sites from Allied London for £15m to help ease the developer through the credit crunch.
But TheBusinesDesk understands the Albert’s Shed acquisition is not a similar deal. Allied London is said to have been keen to develop the site but the council wanted it for strategic reasons linked to the redevelopment of the former Granada television site which sits between Castlefield and Spinningfields.
A council spokesman said: “This is an important strategic waterfront site connecting Spinningfields and the former ITV Granada site, and standing at the gateway between Manchester and Salford city centres.
“Acquisition of the site complements other nearby city council landholdings and gives us greater influence over further developments in a key regeneration area. Independent valuation confirmed that this was a fair market value for the site and we would anticipate fully recouping the outlay through its future development.”
Mike Ingall, Allied London’s chief executive, could not be reached for comment.
