London investor buys into Ask’s Greengate scheme

LONDON property investor Tristan Capital Partners is buying into Ask Developments’ Greengate office scheme in Salford.

One of its funds is taking a majority stake in a joint venture formed to develop the former Exchange Station site by Ask and construction group Carillion.

The value of its investment was not disclosed but it is understood Tristan is commiting around £20m to buy out the interest held by Network Rail which owns the land. A value of £56m has been put on the first block and a car park.

The Embankment Greengate project consists of two office blocks of 172,640 sq ft and 150,000 sq ft and a 442-space car park.

Work is expected to start on the first building in June with finance in place from the German bank Helaba. Three years ago Salford City Council agreed to take a head lease to help Ask access finance. Tristan said today this will cover eight years and car parks operator Q-Park has signed up for 35.

Peter Mather of Tristan Capital Partners said: “Salford City Council’s vision in providing an innovative ‘wrapper lease’ has been instrumental in unlocking the potential for this part of Greengate, given its ideal location within walking distance of the heart of Manchester.

“The lease from Salford along with that from Q-Park has enabled the joint venture to secure construction finance to kick-start this exciting development opportunity. The Embankment development will deliver Grade A space to the Manchester office market and create a corporate centre with Salford at a time when there is little new supply coming on-stream and as the momentum in the UK economic recovery lifts tenant demand.”
 
John Hughes, managing director of Ask Real Estate, said: “We have been working closely with our joint venture partners to deliver the shared ambitions for this landmark site and with this extremely positive news that the scheme is now fully funded, we can state with confidence that we will be on site in June 2014. This puts us in a very strong position to take advantage of the continuing urbanisation of the occupier market into the city centre by providing new Grade A office space designed to meet the occupational needs of modern businesses.”