Realty sells Oxford Road site to Bruntwood

Bruntwood has bought the 5.4-acre former BBC site on Manchester's Oxford Road from Realty Estates, and intends to develop a masterplan including 900,000 sq ft of commercial space alongside retail, a hotel, and apartments.

Realty confirmed that it was in talks with Bruntwood in January.

The sale price was undisclosed. Realty is understood to have paid the BBC around £10m for New Broadcasting House in 2011, which was vacated with all buildings later demolished when the BBC moved to Media City UK.

A strategic regeneration framework for the site, designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and prepared by Deloitte, was approved by Manchester City Council in 2013.

Yousef Tishbi, chief executive of Realty Estates, said: "Having worked up the masterplan for the site with the city we are pleased to have sold to Bruntwood who, we are sure, with MSP, will deliver a scheme that will help further develop the city's proposition to the science and technology sectors."

Bruntwood said that the scheme it is proposing will create a new community for business, science and innovation including 900,000 sq ft of commercial space as well as new public open space, retail, a hotel, car parking and high quality residential accommodation.

The developer's plans will incorporate the Manchester Technology Centre to create an eight-acre plot.

Chris Oglesby, chief executive of Bruntwood, said: "We have long seen this as a strategically important site for Bruntwood, linking our extensive city centre office portfolio with our science and technology interests at Corridor Manchester through Manchester Science Partnerships. We are looking forward to developing out a masterplan that will be truly transformational for this area of the city. The finished scheme, plus the central Corridor campus of MSP, Citylabs and Alderley Park represent a world class cluster of more than 3m sq ft of commercial space aimed at satisfying the incredible demand that Manchester is witnessing from these fast growing sectors of the economy."

Addleshaw Goddard advised Bruntwood on the acquisition and Davis Blank Furniss advised Realty.