Scarborough Group International (SGI) has secured funding for two major residential developments on the edge of Manchester from two publicly-listed Far Eastern property groups with a gross development value for the two schemes at around £600m.
SGI has formed a joint venture with Top Spring International Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-listed real estate developer and Metro Holdings Limited, a Singapore-listed property development and investment group to develop SGI's sites at phase II of Milliners Wharf, a canal side development in New Islington, Manchester, and Middlewood Locks, a 23.6 acre site at the western gateway of Manchester and centred around the former Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal.
Kevin McCabe, Chairman of SGI, said: "I have known and worked with the Directors and management teams of Top Spring and Metro for many years through Scarborough's extensive activities in China, and have the utmost respect for them.
"They are as excited as we are to be developing high-quality, new homes in one of the UK's most vibrant, cosmopolitan and progressive regions. There is very strong demand for housing in the central Manchester area and, as in many parts of the UK, a shortage of supply, so we are confident that both our projects will be well received".
Phase II of Milliners Wharf, which has a gross development value of £30m, will provide 144 luxury apartments, comprising studio, one, two and three-bedrooms, in an eight storey building, on the Ashton Canal. Construction is to commence in summer 2014 with completion expected during 2016.
Middlewood Locks, which has a gross development value of £575m, is planned to provide a new neighbourhood with up to 2,000 new homes, with a mix of apartments and houses, along with mixed commercial uses including offices, shops, delis, restaurants, a convenience store, nursery and gym.
The site already has an outline planning consent for 2.6 million sq ft of residential-led, mixed-use development, but an additional 2.6 acre section of the site acquired recently is expected to increase the gross development area, once outline planning consent has also been granted for this additional section. Over the course of 2014, Scarborough will be bringing forward its development plans to accommodate a start on site of phase 1, during the first half of 2015.
Mr. Chun Hong Wong, Chairman and CEO of Top Spring, said: "We have worked extensively with Scarborough in the People's Republic of China, over the last ten years, and are pleased to be continuing our partnership with them in the UK, along with Metro, to deliver two high-quality residential developments in an area of the UK where there is a shortage of good-quality housing supply".
