Bruntwood moves for ex-BBC site
MANCHESTER property group Bruntwood is preparing to consolidate its position as a major property force in the Oxford Road area of the city with a swoop on the former BBC site.
The six-acre plot was sold by the BBC to Realty Estates for around £10m when the broadcaster left the city centre for MediaCityUK in 2011.
Now Realty, which was financed with a loan from N Brown shareholder Lord Alliance, has confirmed that it is in “advanced negotiations” with Bruntwood over the sale of the site which is being used as a car park.
Bruntwood, which owns around 100 office buildings in the North and Midlands, was an original bidder against Realty when the BBC put it on the market, and the site suits its growing interest in the “knowledge economy” based on the universities and hospitals around Oxford Road.
Such a deal would chime with strategy chiefs at the city council who two years ago expressed their displeasure at Realty’s early plans for student accommodation and shops. They saw a future for the site as a location for up to 6,000 high end jobs in science, healthcare and the digital and creative industries.
The council later backed down, accepting that “residential accommodation, including some student accommodation would clearly be acceptable as part of an overall mix”.
Realty’s head of developments Shahram Sakhdari said: “We are in advanced stages of negotiations with Bruntwood for the sale of the Oxford Road site but nothing has been signed yet. We have other serious interests in the project but Bruntwood is the most advanced.
“This is a complex transaction and things can suddenly change in the last minute until everything is legally signed by both sides of the deal.
“I am unable to provide any further comments due to the sensitive nature of the future project.”
Last year Bruntwood completed the redevelopment of the former Royal Eye Hospital as Citylabs – a 100,000 sq ft block for life sciences businesses further along Oxford Road.
It also owns half of Manchester Science Partnerships (formerly Manchester Science Parks) which is based behind Manchester University and bought AztraZeneca’s Alderley Park research base last year. The business is also working with Manchester University on the redevelopment of Manchester Business School.
Bruntwood and the council declined to comment on the deal.
