Ask bags £40m Fountain Street overhaul 

Fund manager M&G Real Estate aims to explore redevelopment options for Hill Dickinson’s 34,000 sq ft Manchester headquarters, which could see the building demolished and a 55,000 sq ft office constructed. 

Ask Real Estate has been appointed to the £40m scheme, which would involve the retention of 50 Fountain Street’s grade two-listed façade but see the rest of the block knocked down to make way for a new-build seven-storey development, according to preliminary plans outlined by the developer. 

“We have been appointed to provide external development management services to enable the delivery of a 55,000 sq ft Grade A next-generation office building in [M&G’s] investment portfolio,” Ask said on its website. 

In a statement to Place North West, M&G confirmed it is “working on a planning submission for the refurbishment of 50 Fountain Street” but that work would not start until Hill Dickinson’s lease expires in April 2024.

Hill Dickinson declined to comment. 

Elsewhere in Manchester, Ask recently exited a joint venture with developer Salboy to deliver the £300m Viadux scheme. 

In January, Ask and Whitbread unveiled plans to build a 41-storey residential tower and 400,000 sq ft of offices in the First Street development zone in central Manchester. 

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