Phones 4u Arena sold ‘for £82m’
THE Phones 4u Arena in Manchester is being sold in a deal that could be worth £82m.
Development Securities and its joint venture partner Patron Capital have confirmed they have conditionally exchanged on the site but will not give further detail at this stage.
Their statement was prompted by a report in Estates Gazette which said the arena was being sold in an £82m off-market deal to Mansford Real Estate. Mansford, a division of Mansford Capital Partners, is based in London and owned by Oliver Smith and Charles Knight.
Development Securities acquired the 21,000-seater venue from GE Real Estate for £62.2m in June 2010. Two months later it announced a joint venture and funding deal with investment firm Patron Capital Partners, which left it with a 30% stake.
The venue had no sponsor for 18 months until Phones 4u signed up to a five-year naming rights deal in July. The Manchester Evening News ended a 13-year association with the venue in December 2011.
In a stock market statement the owners said: “Further to recent press speculation we confirm that in joint venture with Patron Capital, we have conditionally exchanged on the sale of The Phones 4u Arena in Manchester. Until the conditions of this exchange are concluded, we are unable to comment further.”
