Landsec ‘very confident’ of 2025 start on Mayfield offices
Fresh from announcing the company’s £243m pre-tax profit for the half year ending 30 September, chief executive Mark Allan singled out the Manchester project as one of its key future developments.
In particular, Allan played up Mayfield’s renegotiated development agreement that will enable Landsec to deliver itself the scheme’s 1,700-home residential phases. He said that he hopes to begin delivery of the homes in 2026, with an eye towards completing the residential aspects of Mayfield in 2034.
Preliminary work has already begun, with a scoping report submitted in October to Manchester City Council for the first batch of 900 flats and a public consultation starting soon after.
The Labour government’s outward focus on housing delivery has led Allan and Landsec to feel confident in leaning into the residential market. The company said it has the potential to invest more than £1bn in the sector by 2030 and £3bn over the next decade.
But the £400m offices phase at Mayfield has not been forgotten in the excitement of a pro-housing development Whitehall, he assured Place North West.
“I am very confident we will start with the office phase next year,” he said. “That will bring a vibrancy to that area within the next two to three years and, more importantly, that will unlock the opportunity for residential later on.”
Allan doubled down on the offices being a major element to the larger Mayfield project, adding that in order for the development to be successful it needs to have both residential and commercial uses.
Landsec has been promising delivery of the 320,000 sq ft of offices at Mayfield for a while, with Allan telling Place in May that he was “hopeful” of a start on site before the end of the year. That, obviously, has not materialised.
MediaCity was absent from the results highlight for the half-year from Landsec. The group took full ownership of the Salford site earlier this month. Allan said the chance to take full control over MediaCity was “too good an opportunity to pass up on”, adding that from the start of Landsec’s involvement in the neighbourhood he had felt that it was loaded with potential.
He mentioned three components to MediaCity that made it special: the economic prospects of Greater Manchester, the creative sector’s potential for growth, and the opportunity to develop a second phase.
Allan teased that more news from MediaCity should be expected in the coming year as Landsec works with occupiers, including the BBC, on its next phase.
Landsec’s stock price on the London Stock Exchange was up 2% following the half-year results reveal.
Yawn!!!!
By Anonymous
I do sort of remember a similar article around the same time last year… let’s hope it’s for real this time!
By Anonymous
Get on with it already!
By Andrew
Network Rail (I assume the owner) should know down Mayfield Station and all the all other redundant ugly anti-place-making rail viaducts functioning as Berlin Walls across Manchester. I bet this readers letter will get things moving.
By Anonymous
Why bother. They would have been better creating a huge park there and left these dreary offices on the drawing board. That whole area is a complete mess, because of the delays with this development, and gives a shocking impression of Manchester when people arrive at Piccadilly.
By Elephant
Consent for the offices granted in January 2020. Landsec U&I agrees deal with the Mayfield Partners to draw down the land for the offices in November 2022. Throughout 2024 we keep hearing that unless you can secure a rent of £55 per sq ft no new offices in Manchester are viable. And now Mark Allen says Landsec will start office development next year in an area of the city where nobody is securing anywhere near £40 per sq ft. Calling David Thame to do a piece on this!!!.
By Anonymous
Just extend the park instead
By Anonymous
This has been going longer than I’ve teeth and I’m on dentures now. For the love of god somebody throw a spade in the ground . Do I have to do everything myself?
By Gubby
Arriving at Piccadilly station makes Mogadishu look nice.
Do something about this hellhole with a fairly nice park in the middle of it.
By Raimundo
It’s old Victorian industrial infrastructure by a main railway station…same as every other main railway around the country..and people want Hyde park or the hanging gardens of Babylon 🙄. Get something built..ideally this.
By Anonymous
Is it that time of year again? already
By Ann Yewall - Lee
This and the central retail park, when they start building I will believe it!
By Anonymous
The people clambering to get into the comments and demanding on getting these built are likely the same ones always bleating that we don’t need any more office buildings..
By Anonymous
I think we’ve heard this before, while we’re on the subject of stalled schemes what’s happening to the London Road fire station?
By Anonymous
I wouldn’t trust these guys to make me a cup of coffee on time, let alone this development.
Every 6 months they say they’re about to start. Maybe we’ve been spoilt by Renaker who certainly don’t mess about. I’ve lost all faith that this will ever be delivered.
By Mac Man
‘The people clambering onto the comments…blah blah blah…’ why would these same people not want offices built ? That makes no sense at all.
By Anonymous
It is not that the city does not need new offices. It does and it will.
The simple fact is that new offices are simply not viable at the moment. Doubt if that position will change soon.
By Anonymous
Surely, it would make more economic sense to start with the residential development, with the already high demand for housing, then when there is further demand for office space in this part of Manchester, to move onto developing that?
By Anonymous
I’ll be looking to rent one of their apartments, owing to the effects of time dilation I’ll be flying at light speed for a couple of years around the milky way….only 4 years in my time but 4 miliion year’s back on earth, Just enough time for them to have reached PC before the heat death of the universe!
By Brian cox!
There are so many entire business districts .Noma , First St, Spinningfields, New Bailey , Circle square etc etc being built in and around Manchester I have to wonder why they want more if the office market is dead. Unless…what’s that you say? the evidence disagrees with my inner narrative? I don’t care ..my inner narrative always takes precedence and always will. Also the earth is flat.
By Copernicus