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Carillion takes over Ask Real Estate

8 Jan 16 Carillion has bought a majority stake in Manchester real estate developer Ask.

Ask and Carillion have been working together on the Embankment development in Manchester city centre
Ask and Carillion have been working together on the Embankment development in Manchester city centre

Carillion has bought out the four founding shareholders of the business, which was formed in Manchester in 2000. These include Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall, along with his band's manager Andy Dodd, Simon Bate and former Amec Developments director Ken Knott. The sale price was not disclosed.

Ask now plans to create a £500m pipeline of commercial property development schemes across the north of England, supported by Carillion’s developments team.

Ask Real Estate managing director John Hughes and finance director Jonathan Cross retain their executive roles and will be joined on the board of Ask by Simon Eastwood, managing director of Carillion’s developments business and Peter Forsyth, Carillion’s director of strategy and investment.

The investment builds on an existing joint venture between Carillion, Ask and Tristan Capital Partners that is delivering a two phase development at Embankment in Manchester City Centre.  The first phase comprises 101 Embankment, a 10-storey, 165,000 sq ft development of office space, retail and leisure units and a multi-storey car park due for completion in July 2016.

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The joint venture will also submit a planning application in February 2016 for the second phase of the scheme, which is an adjacent identical office building called 100 Embankment.

Carillion chief executive Richard Howson said: “Carillion has established an excellent working relationship with Ask over many years and most recently on the Embankment project in Manchester and this investment will enable both businesses to build on that success at a time of exciting opportunities in the north of England. Carillion already has a strong presence in the region delivering prestigious projects in a number of places including Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds and this deal underlines our long-term commitment to the north.”

Ask Real Estate’s managing director John Hughes said: “The Carillion investment into Ask Real Estate is a game changer for the business, presenting us with an exciting opportunity to marry our reputation for delivering high quality developments and spaces in urban centres with the expertise and financial resource of Carillion.”

Ask is also reaching beyond Manchester following its recent appointment, in joint venture with Patrizia UK, to develop an 800,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme at Gateshead Quays for Gateshead Council.

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MPU

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