Wanted: China tenants for UK business district

[LONDON] The developer of a huge business district in northern England is planning a roadshow through cities such as Beijing and Shanghai to attract Chinese tenants to Manchester. China's Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) says that the project is the biggest in Britain since the 2012 Olympics and believes it could help move the centre of economic gravity away from London.

Last October, BCEG announced that it would become a 20 per cent partner alongside construction group Carillion and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to develop an £800 million (S$1.7 billion), five million square foot business district at Manchester airport, Britain's third busiest.

Its choice of Manchester marks a departure from the path taken so far by most Chinese property developers, such as Advanced Business Park, that have headed first to the capital, where demand for space has stayed strong through the downturn compared to the rest of the country.