MIPIM | Flintoff targets Mayfield for next Manchester development
Logik Developments, headed up by former cricketer Andrew Flintoff alongside developers Neil Spencer and Tony Bhatti, is looking to start its first major project in Manchester city centre later this year, and is lining up two potential schemes as part of the city’s Mayfield framework. Place North West sat down with the team to find out what else the developer has planned.
Flintoff and his cousin Spencer, who is the company’s managing director, have been running Logik for around five years, but made their first foray into large-scale residential development with their Arundel Street proposal in Castlefield.
The 386-home, 36-storey development, designed by SimpsonHaugh, has been out to public consultation and the team is aiming to have the planning application validated by the end of the month. Alongside residential, the plans also include leisure and commercial space.
Logik is hopeful of having the scheme go for before planners in June or July, and Spencer said the hope was to get the project on site before the end of the year.
The scheme has an estimated GDV in excess of £100m, and Spencer said Logik was in discussions “with a number of funders” to secure backing, with an announcement expected in the coming months.
No contractor has formally been appointed but Logik has previously worked with McLaren on other joint ventures. Flintoff said he was keen to get the scheme delivered to a high standard.
“I’m not expecting a pat on the back but it’d be great to drive past and see it and think, ‘I helped build that’,” he said. Spencer added Logik would be unlikely to retain the development once it completes apart from the former DOT Motorcycle building, which will be refurbished as part of the scheme.
The developer owns two sites at Mayfield, bordering the Mancunian Way and the River Medlock, and will work with U+I and the council to bring these forward as part of the wider £800m development. One will feature a hotel, and the other includes residential, but Spencer said Logik “wouldn’t want to step on any toes” and would be making a final decision on what will be developed once the site’s strategic regeneration framework is approved.
“The consultation has been well received by the public and the council so we’re hopeful of bringing that forward soon,” he said.
Logik has also been looking at sites in Bolton and Preston, with Flintoff keen to stress the developer’s local connections.
“We’re all Lancashire lads and I played for Lancashire, and there’s a lot of opportunity in these towns – not just Bolton and Preston, but Blackburn and Burnley as well.”
Logik is yet to secure a specific site in Bolton but Flintoff said the company had been in conversations with the council about delivering part of its £1bn masterplan.
“We have looked at sites in Preston that haven’t ended up coming forward, through no fault of our own, but we’re keen to make something happen,” he added.
The potential schemes form part of Flintoff’s ambition to expand his interests in property, with Logik looking to bring forward a number of strategic sites across the country, with a particular focus on the North West.
The company has looked at a series of student accommodation schemes in Liverpool, and is bringing forward a site in North Wales with the intention of gaining planning permission and selling it on.
Flintoff said: “There’s huge opportunities around the North West; Manchester is flying, I’ve lived there and seen how the city’s grown. But it’s not just about the cities – it’s all about the whole region and the opportunities throughout towns like Bolton, Preston, and elsewhere.”
