Ask pulls out of Viadux JV 

Salboy is to deliver the £300m scheme’s 40-storey residential tower in Manchester alone, but the future of the 240,000 sq ft office element, which Ask Real Estate was overseeing, is uncertain.

The vehicle behind the 375-apartment Viadux – Ask Capital – has changed its name to Salboy Capital, and Ask directors John Hughes and Jonathan Cross have resigned, according to documents filed with Companies House. 

The three remaining directors are Salboy’s co-founder Fred Done, and managing director Simon Ismail, alongside Lee McCarren, managing director of Domis Property Group, Salboy’s construction arm. 

The 50:50 joint venture was formed in January 2020 to deliver the SimpsonHaugh-designed scheme on the site of the former Bauer Millet unit off Albion Street, close to Manchester Central Convention Complex. 

Salboy said in a statement today that it is “committed” to delivering the project. It wants to press ahead with construction and is eyeing completion in the second quarter of 2024. 

Ismail said: “We have set the foundations for delivering a world-class scheme and one of Manchester’s most exclusive developments and we will now take the project to completion.” 

However, it is not yet known whether the 14-storey office building, which also has planning consent, will be advanced. 

Ask declined to comment when contacted by Place North West.