Andy Bell teams up with Downing for £60m student scheme

TWO executives at Manchester pensions provider AJ Bell have teamed up with Liverpool developer Downing to deliver nearly 1,000 students beds in the city.

Andrew Bell, chief executive and major shareholder of AJ Bell, and Fergus Lyons, managing director of the firm’s Sippcentre division, each have 25% in the Islington Regeneration Company.

It has submitted planning applications for four students blocks in Islington, an area to the north of the city centre which was historically associated with the textiles industry.

Downing, which has 50% through Downing Investments, has been in talks with the city council about regenerating a 20-acre area for nearly 10 years but progress has been held back by the recession.

Last month Islington Regeneration submitted two applications. One for a 10-storey block on Devon Street with 342 units and the other for three six to eight-storey blocks on Gildart Street for a total of 580 units.

Downing director Paul Houghton said they represent phases one and two of wider plans which could include up to seven stages, with a variety of uses, over the next 10 years.

He said: “Downing is building in several regional cities and we feel there is an opportunity to provide quality accommodation, particularly with the expansion plans of the universities.

“There is a potential danger of over supply in the future but we believe the key issue to this is the quality of what you deliver, so we will provide high quality accommodation on, or as close to, campus as possible.”

Fergus Lyons told TheBusinessDesk.com said: “We’re investors, we’ve been involved for a number of years but it’s nothing to do with the business. This is purely a personal investment.”

He confirmed that the plans represented the first of a number of development phases. Islington Regeneration will seek planning permission before attracting funding, but Mr Lyons added: “The funding side of it wouldn’t be one of our biggest concerns.”

The buildings, designed by Liverpool architect Falconer Chester Hall, will replace a retail warehouse and a car park. Work on the first first could start in January with the first rooms ready for the September 2016 student in-take.