Middlewood Locks gets £35m funding boost from HCA
Developer FairBriar International has secured a £35m funding facility from the Homes & Communities Agency to help it fast-track the second phase of the 2,200-home Middlewood Locks development in Manchester.
The next stage of the project will provide 546 one, two, and three bedroom flats across four buildings, and has secured £25.5m of residential development finance from the HCA’s Home Building Fund.
An additional £9.2m will be put towards infrastructure and enabling works for the rest of the site.
Chinese contractor BCEGI is lined up to build the 360,000 sq ft second phase, and is currently on site at the development’s first phase, which includes 570 flats across six buildings, due to complete in October next year. Homes are currently on sale with two-bedroom properties priced at £240,000 and one-beds priced at £160,000.
In total, the Middlewood Locks masterplan includes 2,215 new homes and 900,000 sq ft of commercial space, including retail, a hotel, and offices, over a 25-acre site.
HCA chief executive, Nick Walkley, said: “This loan is a great example of how we can help developers create new communities which will provide more of the homes that people need, and do so quickly – completing almost 600 homes by this time next year.
“As the wider site is set to deliver more than 2,200 homes, a key part of the funding was to support the infrastructure works as this will enable the future residential phases to be brought forward faster”.
FairBriar International is a joint venture led by Scarborough International Properties with a 50% stake, with Metro Holdings of Singapore and Hualing Group of China both with 25% stakes.