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Marking its first foray into Europe, Singapore-listed property firm Rowsley Ltd plans to invest £200 million (S$440 million) in a 1.43-acre mixed-use development in Manchester City, UK.
In a press release dated 27 Aug, Rowsley said intends to spend about £40 million (S$88 million) to acquire a 75 percent stake in St Michael Investments Pte Ltd, the company that will develop the integrated project with an estimated gross development value of £200 million (S$440 million).
Dubbed as St Michael’s, the world-class project consists of a five-star hotel, high-quality office space, luxury apartments, restaurants and two brand new public squares. The development is merely a two-hour train ride from London.
21 percent of the stake will be owned by Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG), which is currently undertaking the £800 million (S$1.73 billion) expansion project for Manchester’s Airport City. The remaining 4 percent will be equally divided by football icons Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, Manchester United’s longest-serving players before their retirement.
Rowsley’s business ventures into Manchester comes at a time when the UK government is encouraging businesses to move north amidst the rising business cost in London, the company said.
“St Michael’s will be a landmark city centre development and will meet the growing demand for quality accommodation and offices as Manchester continues to benefit from the migration of businesses from high-cost London,” said Rowsley CEO Lock Wai Han.
Besides the new development, the Singapore firm will also spend another £29.1 million (S$64.1 million) to secure a 75 percent shareholding in the 133-room Hotel Football Old Trafford in Manchester, a 120-seat restaurant Café Football in east London and the firm managing the two existing properties, GG Collections.
As part of the Northern Powerhouse’, Manchester is among the largest and fastest-growing UK cities with a population of more than 2.5 million. It is home to half the Northwest’s Top 500 businesses and the two of the world’s highest-earning football clubs, namely Manchester United and Manchester City.
Image source: Rowsley
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg
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