Hong Kong-listed Far East Consortium has been selected as the preferred investment partner to deliver a 10,000-home regeneration opportunity in Manchester.
The property development and investment company, which first entered the UK property market in 2013, is close to agreeing a deal to back the Northern Gateway, which represents one of the largest urban regeneration opportunities in the UK and is on the same scale as Capco’s Earls Court, SW5, and L&Q’s Barking Riverside. Based on an average house price of £200,000, the project would have a gross development value of £2bn. The average two-bedroom flat in the city centre now fetches £230,000, with one-bedroom flats going for £150,000, according to JLL.
Extending from Victoria Station and taking in the neighbourhoods of NOMA, the Lower Irk Valley, New Cross and Collyhurst, the development area covers 300 acres and has the potential to deliver up to 10,000 homes over the next 10-15 years.
The selection follows a procurement process led by Manchester Place, a Manchester City Council and Homes and Communities Agency initiative to increase housebuilding in the city. GVA and Pinsent Masons are running the competition, which launched in spring 2016.
It would be FEC’s second project in the city, having been selected in autumn 2015 as the preferred development partner to bring forward the £200m Angel Meadow residential scheme (pictured), which comprises 754 homes and is the first element of the Northern Gateway project. A planning application for the project is due to be submitted in spring this year.
JLL is advising FEC. All parties declined to comment.
What is Far East Consortium?
FEC was founded by the late Hong Kong banking entrepreneur Deacon Chiu and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972.
The investment holding company principally operates in property, through development, investment, hotel and car park operation, securities and financial product investments. It had 20 active property development projects and a development pipeline of around 11m sq ft at its most recent financial report for 2015. The company’s portfolio spans Hong Kong, mainland China, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and the UK. FEC made its first UK acquisition was the former Shepherds Bush Pavilion, W12, in 2013, which its hotel arm, Dorsett Hospitality International, has converted into a hotel.
Further London projects include Alpha Square, E14, a £500m residential scheme, and Hornsey Town Hall, Haringey, which it plans to restore and transform with a new community space, boutique hotel, and café/restaurants at ground floor levels.
Northern Gateway: 10,000-home opportunity
The 300-acre district comprises significant areas of brownfield, former industrial land which is currently underutilised. The council will input land it already owns into the partnership. Further land assembly will be required by the council and partner, which could involve using compulsory purchase powers.
Sites already in the council’s ownership have been identified that will form the basis of the initial development opportunity. Once the investment partner has been finalised, the partnership will appoint a masterplanning architect to create a full masterplan for the whole Northern Gateway which will be used to guide development, place-making, green spaces and transport links.
The area has been identified as suitable for a range of different housing types, tenures and budgets in various market segments moving out from the city centre.
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