mediacity:uk – how much ££££ ?

Peel Holdings (net assets £1.34bn; boss John Whittaker’s est stake £915m) is the main developer for mediacity:uk, and because it is a private company it doesn’t have to divulge anything to the public about the cost of mediacity:uk. There’s a figure of £400 million being banded about but it’s way, way more than that - what we do know is that since Salford became the preferred bidder for the BBC, Central Salford URC has upped its estimate for public and private investment in the city during the next 10 years by well over a billion quid, citing mediacity:uk as the key reason.

The public money going into the project that we know about is £30 million from North West Development Agency and £10 million committed from Salford City Council’s `section 106’ pocket, plus £500,000 to help develop the proposals. Expect a lot more than this coming from the council when the scheme is confirmed. The BBC will be paying leases on the buildings it uses, plus it’s paying for the move which is estimated at just under £400 million. So far, there’s £40.5 million in public money on the table that we know about, but that’s without the URC’s costs etc.