Trafford Council agrees £60m loan for CIS Tower refurb

Trafford Council has agreed to loan £60m to CIS Tower owner Castlebrooke Investments, to refurbish and refinance the 361,000 sq ft grade two-listed building.

The 28-storey CIS Tower on Miller Street was sold to Castlebrooke Investments, a property investment firm, for £66m in 2017.

The building was completed in 1962, at which time it was the third tallest in Europe at 118 metres, but now requires substantial refurbishment.

The local authority, Trafford Council, has agreed loan financing of £60m, almost as much as the amount Castlebrooke paid for the building in 2017, to invest in its refurbishment, according to a budget report to Trafford Council’s executive committee.

The loan allocation is part of the council’s investment strategy approved in July 2017, to be financed through the £400m Asset Investment Fund established that year. The fund was originally set up with £300m from central Government, supported by prudential borrowing. A further £100m was approved as part of the council’s 2019/20 budget.

The CIS Tower loan is one of several strategic property portfolio investments being made by Trafford Council as part of its asset investment strategy, according to this week’s budget report. However, the council has not purchased the tower and the proposed refurbishment will be led by Castlebrooke.

If there are any surplus funds from the £60m loan, it will be re-distributed across the council’s services provision areas. A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: “The council has provided a £60m refinance and refurbishment loan to the owners of the CIS Tower for works to the building as part of our corporate investment strategy.”

There remains £95m of the Asset Investment Fund uncommitted, with several future proposals yet to be included such as the redevelopment of the Trafford Magistrates Court site, the budget report added.

The CIS Tower is currently rented as office space to a division Co-operative Bank.

Castlebrooke is a London-based investor developer headed by ex-Carisbrooke directors Neil Young and Jonathan Mitchell. The company is also behind the development of the 178,000 sq ft Landmark office on the former Odeon site in Manchester’s St Peter’s Square.

Castlebrooke has been contacted for comment and information about the CIS Tower refurbishment and refinancing programme.