Property developer Land Securities has displayed its second vote of confidence in major mixed-use developments in UK cities in a week, by buying a 75% interest in Salford’s MediaCity for £425.6 million.
The deal, which includes £293.6 million of debt, will see FTSE 100 company Landsec become one of the landlords of a 37-acre site that includes a media and tech hub, homes and shops.
The Greater Manchester site is used by businesses including ITV and THG.BBC North also operates from there.
The purchase is from Legal & General and Peel L&P. The latter retains a 25% stake.
The move comes after Landsec on Monday agreed a £190 million swoop for developer U+I, which has a major London regeneration site in its portfolio.
Landsec CEO Mark Allan said: “Opportunities to participate in large-scale, established mixed-use developments are scarce and MediaCity is one such.”
Phase one of the MediaCity project was completed 10 years ago. The second phase has already seen the completion of two residential towers , and there is outline planning consent for an additional 1.6 million square feet including office and homes.
Wes Erlam, director of urban regeneration at L&G, said: “As MediaCity now reaches its next stage of maturity, this sale enables us to release growth capital for deployment into new opportunities, as we continue to identify early stage projects and ventures where we can create significant value.”
