Ask Developments sells First Street Manchester development to PATRIZIA

Ask has sold its First Street development in Manchester to European real estate investment company PATRIZIA Immobilien AG for an undisclosed sum.

The 20-acre gateway site and its future development phases have been sold by Ask to the UK subsidiary of PATRIZIA Immobilien AG, a company listed on the German stock exchange Deutsche Borse. The European real estate investor was established in 1984 and has offices throughout Germany and in London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris and Stockholm.

The transaction with Patrizia includes:

– Number One First Street, the 180,000 sq ft Grade A office building occupied by Jacobs, Auto Trader, Ford Credit Europe and Gazprom;

– a new 208-bedroom four-star hotel operated by Melia International under its Innside brand;

– nine new food and beverage units and extensive public realm.

Further development phases on the 20-acre site will ultimately provide a new commercial neighbourhood for Manchester with a total of almost 1 million sq ft of sustainable, campus-style office buildings, alongside a new residential neighbourhood of up to 500 PRS apartments.

John Hughes, Managing Director of Ask Real Estate, said: “As a Manchester-focused development company, we are looking forward to continuing our work on First Street with PATRIZIA UK to deliver the next phases of development. We are very proud of having brought the first phase of this major transformational scheme to completion in partnership with Manchester City Council, and we look forward to continuing our excellent working relationship with Manchester City Council and forging a new one with PATRIZIA.”