Loan funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Close Brothers has enabled work to re-start on the Sarah Point Nuovo scheme in Manchester.

The steel frame of the stalled site on Great Ancoats Street has been mothballed since 2008, but the 166 unit scheme will now be taken forward by developer Nuovo Apartments, a joint venture between UK Land & Property and Sir Robert McAlpine.

The HCA has invested £6m into this project via a loan from the Get Britain Building programme. This is in addition to £4m which the Agency had previously invested into the scheme. The loan finance from Close Brothers is their first significant investment in the north since 2008.

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Deborah McLaughlin, Executive Director for the HCA in the North West commented: "It is great that Sarah Point Nuovo has started on site. It’s an extremely important scheme for Ancoats and a prominent sign of the activity in the City Fringe which has seen over 500 homes start on site with Get Britain Building funding within the last couple of months.

"Ancoats is really taking off, with The Halle's new permanent rehearsal home in the former St Peter’s church and the New Islington Free school opening in September 2013."

Simon Parker from Nuovo Apartments said: "We are delighted to have completed funding agreements to get this scheme moving. We expect the 40 Low Cost Home Ownership units, which will be delivered with Adactus Housing, to be completed in the summer next year, and the remaining 126 high quality open market for sale apartments to be ready for occupation in the autumn of 2014. We are already talking to occupiers for the commercial space on Great Ancoats Street.'

(CD)