Soapworks Salford, Former Manchester Colgate factory Building News, Design, Property Image

Soapworks Salford : Ivy Wharf

Ivy Wharf Development near Manchester, northwest England: former Colgate factory Building – design by shedkm, architects

27 Oct 2009

Soapworks Ivy Wharf

Architect: shedkm

CARLYLE AND ABSTRACT NIKAL SUBMIT PLANS FOR IVY WHARF SCHEME IN SALFORD

Outline plans submitted for Ivy Wharf mixed use scheme together with detailed plans for the £25 million regeneration of former Colgate factory

London, UK – Global private equity firm, The Carlyle Group (“Carlyle”), announces that, in conjunction with its joint venture partner Abstract Nikal Ltd, it has submitted an outline planning application for Ivy Wharf, its 8.42 acre site in Salford Quays, near Manchester, together with a detailed application for the regeneration of Soapworks, the former Colgate Palmolive factory located in the heart of Ivy Wharf.

Following extensive public consultation with the local community, during which the plans received strong local support, a detailed application has been submitted to redevelop the existing factory, now named Soapworks, into a 380,000 sq ft office, supported by ancillary consumer focused space on the ground floor, which might include retail, gym and restaurants. With floor plates of up to 85,000 sq ft, the space will accommodate a broad range of office requirements, with units starting at 2,000 sq ft. Marketing for pre-lets is already underway, targeting those tenants looking for affordable but high quality space. Subject to the receipt of planning approval, the project will be developed in stages, with the first phase totalling 100,000 sq ft.

In addition, outline planning has been submitted for the development of the wider Ivy Wharf site and an extension to the Soapworks building, to include a 200-bed hotel, a retail element, residential as well as further office space.

The site enjoys excellent communications links and is both next to a metro station and two miles from Manchester city centre. It is also easily accessible from the M62 motorway and a short drive to Manchester International Airport. It is one of the largest sites available in the key regeneration area of Salford Quays and lies in close proximity to “Media City”, which is set to benefit from the relocation of the five BBC departments, between now and 2011. The site is also next to the Exchange Quay office led development.

Carlyle acquired the site in October 2008 through its third European Real Estate Fund, Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners III, which closed in June 2008 having raised €2.2 billion of equity.

Mark Harris, Director of The Carlyle Group, said: “Our plans for the Ivy Wharf development are a further reflection of our commitment to investing in the Manchester region, which we believe will continue to benefit from inward investment, as a significant regional business centre in the UK. This is our second project in the area having recently completed our development at Piccadilly Place, which comprises Three and Four Piccadilly Place, both grade A city centre office schemes which continue to attract major occupiers to the area. ”

Mark Glatman, Chief Executive of Abstract, added: “We have been hugely encouraged by the level of local support we have received for the project, as we look to create a scheme that takes into account the historical relevance of the site to the local community, together with our aim of fulfilling demand in the region for good quality, well-located space at competitive rates.”

Nick Payne, Managing Director of Nikal, commented: “This project provides us with the opportunity to regenerate a waterfront site along Ordsall Lane, making it a strategically important site for the wider area. We have designed a scheme that will cater for a broad range of tenant requirements, but will specifically target those occupiers who want to occupy an iconic building that offers high quality space at an affordable price.”

Canning O’Neill is retained as agents for the scheme.

About Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners
Carlyle Europe Real Estate is the European real estate operation of The Carlyle Group and has been advising on investments throughout Europe since 2001. Carlyle Europe Real Estate aims to add significant value to the properties through active asset management. Carlyle Europe Real Estate has six advisory entities based in Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Stockholm, which, advise on the investments of three European funds based in Luxembourg – Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners I – III, which total €3.4 billion of assets under management. The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm, closed its first real estate fund in the United States in 1997 and, since then, has sponsored a further ten real estate funds in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Total real estate assets under management amount to $11 billion. www.carlyle.com

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $86.1 billion of assets under management committed to 64 funds as of June 30, 2009. Carlyle invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America focusing on aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services and telecommunications & media. Since 1987, the firm has invested $56.3 billion of equity in 920 transactions for a total purchase price of approximately $229.1 billion. The Carlyle Group employs more than 875 people in 20 countries. In the aggregate, Carlyle portfolio companies have more than $109 billion in revenue and employ more than 415,000 people around the world. www.carlyle.com

About Abstract Nikal Ltd
Abstract Nikal Ltd is a joint venture between Mark Glatman’s Abstract Securities Ltd and Nick Payne’s Manchester-based Nikal Ltd. Abstract Nikal was formed to exploit the opportunities offered by the former Colgate site and will work with Carlyle as development managers for the project. Abstract Nikal introduced the project to Carlyle. Separately Abstract Nikal has acquired several freeholds ground rents on adjoining sites which it will manage as a long-term investment for its own benefit.

About Abstract Securities Ltd
Established in April 2000 by Mark Glatman, the Abstract Group of Companies specialises in commercial property development and venture capital financing. The management team at Abstract brings together combined experience of over 6 million sq ft of business space development across the UK and Europe. The team is highly experienced at working directly with major corporate end users, often handling all aspects of their property requirements.

About Nikal Limited
Nikal was established in 2003 by Alan Murphy and Nick Payne. The company has grown rapidly over the last few years and now develops over £600m worth of mixed use schemes up and down the country, including Poole, Hull, Birmingham and Greater Manchester. Nikal is also developing pension qualifying commercial property investments through its brand MyBuro, providing high quality office ownership in town and city centers. The company is also developing Manhattan Suites, which is an up market residential concept, designed and built in conjunction with Sunseeker Yachts.

Soapworks Salford image / information received 271009

Soapworks architect : shedkm

Location: Salford Quays, Manchester, Northwest England, UK