Consortium chosen for Airport City

Argent, Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund and Carillion have won a bid to develop the £650m Airport City scheme.

Manchester Airports Group will next week announce the trio is to redevelop 65 acres at the airport.

The consortium beat off competition from industrial property specialists Goodman and Segro and Ask Developments.

MAG has planning permission for 1m sq ft of offices, 382,639 sq ft of advanced manufacturing, 2,400 new hotel beds, and 1.4m sq ft of logistics space in a range of large, medium and small logistics units.

The project is part of the 150-acre Manchester Airport City Enterprise Zone revealed by chancellor George Osborne in January 2012.

Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund is currently working with Argent and contractor Carillion on Manchester's One St Peter's Square office scheme.

Under the consortium's plan, Carillion would likely take charge of the industrial element of the scheme, and the retail, leisure and office elements would be developed by Argent.

A MAG property spokesman said: "No party has yet been selected for the final stage in our joint venture partner selection process.

"We are pleased with the level of interest shown to date by a number of parties in relation to the Airport City Project at Manchester Airport; as a number of bids have come from a range of international developers and funders."

All consortium parties declined to comment.