CMS advises Muse on £250m New Victoria development in Manchester

International law firm CMS has advised Muse, a leading UK developer specialising in mixed-use developments and urban regeneration, on all aspects of a £250 million development in Manchester. The residential phase of the New Victoria development will create 520 residential units across two towers, 20 and 25 stories respectively, and the commercial phase will create a 100,000+ sq ft, seven-storey, Grade A office-building with ancillary uses. The residential phase is understood to be the biggest “build to rent” development outside of London in the last 12 months.

Muse originally negotiated use of the site from National Rail, the freeholder, and has also agreed forward funding for the residential phase of the development from Pension Investment Company. Manchester City Council and Homes England provided Housing Infrastructure Funding (HIF) for the development – the first HIF funding to be awarded in the country. Muse has also negotiated with NOMA on the release of rights of light to facilitate the development, and with Vinci Construction UK as contractor of the project.

Peter Winnard, CMS Partner in the Real Estate team, comments: “The CMS team is experienced at advising on large scale regeneration projects and we have successfully advised Muse on this exciting development from its very beginning. As the wider market sees a number of infrastructure projects put on hold, we are delighted that this significant development will go ahead as intended.”

The New Victoria development will have a prime location in Manchester’s city centre, adjacent to Victoria Station, NOMA and the Northern Gateway, and will also regenerate an under-utilised 2.5-acre site that for many decades has served as a rough-surface car park.

The CMS team was led by Peter Winnard and supported by Dave Lawson and Purva Arora (Real Estate), Chris Hallam, David Turner and Victoria Adeyemi (Construction).