Scheme revisited after original plan saw dozens of objections

Gary Neville’s property firm has joined a controversial plan to build more than 700 flats in Manchester city centre in two new towers.

A total of 723 build-to-rent apartments could be built in towers 24 and 44 stories tall, along with new office space.

Proposals for the scheme are based on the site of Stocktons Furniture in Ancoats, based over the road from the Manchester Digital Campus on Great Ancoats Street which is expected to become a future base for Andy Burnham’s Number 10 North.

The plans were initially proposed by Liquid Funding Business, but the scheme was delayed last year after major concerns about the impact on daylight on surrounding properties, particularly Oxygen tower.

More than 130 objections were sent to Manchester City Council about the plans and councillors in Manchester delayed the scheme in both November and December 2025, before voting to block it in January this year.

The plans have since been revised and resubmitted to the council for approval, and it has become a joint venture with Relentless Developments, the firm led by Anthony Kilbride and Gary Neville.

One of the key changes is that the tallest building in the development has been lowered from 49 stories to 44 stories.

Anthony Kilbride, CEO of Relentless Developments, said: “Since joining the JV [joint venture], we’ve reviewed the project with fresh eyes, listened carefully to the comments made during the previous planning process and spent a lot of time assessing the scheme with the existing consultancy team, ward councillors and local residents.

“We want to make it the best it can be and ensure it meets our ambitions and approach to development.”

A total of 50 apartments in the revised plans would be at Manchester Living Rent levels, and these would be spread throughout the development with the same specification, size and access to amenities.

These homes would be managed through an agreement with Manchester City Council.

If the plans are approved, bosses behind the project hope construction could get started at the end of 2027, with the project finish set to coincide with the opening of the Manchester Digital Campus in 2032.

Daniel Green, CEO of Liquid Business, said: “Stocktons reflects our ambition to bring together commercial vision, quality and meaningful social value. We believe the scheme can make a lasting contribution to this part of Manchester and to the city’s continued growth.”

Other schemes delivered by Relentless Developments include Hotel Football in Old Trafford, the Stock Exchange Hotel and No.1 St Michael’s in the city centre.

Anthony Kilbride added: “Ultimately, Stocktons will make an important contribution to the city’s growth plans and growing need for new apartments, while acting as a catalyst for further investment and development.

“We’re proud to be playing a positive part in the wider vision for this increasingly important area of Manchester and specifically the wider Manchester Piccadilly masterplan announced at MIPIM earlier this year.”

To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your community, visit the Public Notices Portal.

Businesses, charities and politicians have reacted to criticism of the minimum wage by the economic development minister, with one coffee shop owner calling his public comments “madness”.

Earlier this week, the chief minister rejected Deputy Gerald Voisin’s suggestion that the minimum wage was “strangling our economy” and said the minister’s views did not reflect that of the government or States Assembly.

Frank De Jesus, who runs Coffee Republic, said the cost of living and of doing business in Jersey were a “far-reaching issue”. He has called on the council of ministers to “get their act together” and discuss workers’ pay.

The BBC has contacted Voisin for comment.

De Jesus said to get good staff he often has to pay above the minimum wage, currently set at £13.59 an hour.

He said the cost of labour was a “polarising issue” with most businesses on the high street “just getting by”.

He said: “On one hand, obviously, retailers and hospitality need to make a profit… but we’re also very aware that our workers need to feel as if they’re valued and that they have a chance to get on in life.”

Responding to the disagreement between ministers, he said Voisin’s public comments had “opened a can of worms”.

He said: “Maybe they [ministers] should get around the table and talk about it, I would think, before going publicly with statements that are going to cause huge consternation.

“I think it’s madness, really.”

He suggested the government should increase the income tax threshold so workers earning minimum wage weren’t taxed.

SYDNEY — The S&P/ASX 200 fell 24.4 points, or 0.27%, to 9,045.6 as of 3:22 p.m. AEST Wednesday, as sliding gold prices and surging global bond yields weighed on the market a day after biotechnology giant CSL delivered one of the strongest single-session rallies of the current earnings season.

Wednesday’s decline followed a steadier session Tuesday, when the index closed nearly flat at 9,070 points, halting a four-day losing streak that had pushed the benchmark to a two-week low. According to Trading Economics, bargain hunters stepped into the market Tuesday as August consumer confidence data improved, with mortgage holders reporting less anxiety about the prospect of further interest rate hikes.

CSL was the standout performer of Tuesday’s session, surging 17.25% after the biopharmaceutical company’s underlying profit exceeded analyst forecasts and management signaled a return to growth following what had been described as a difficult reset year for the business. Following the result, brokerage Bell Potter retained its hold rating on CSL shares while lifting its price target significantly, to $150.00 from $120.00. “Based on the new underlying NPAT metric, CSL trades on a PE multiple of ~19x FY26 and ~18x FY27 earnings, with flat revenue growth and low-to-mid single digit earnings growth expected for FY27,” Bell Potter said in a note. “While the result today suggests the worst (by way of earnings declines) is in the rear-view for CSL, we find it difficult to justify a greater premium than is now being attributed relative to global biopharma peers.”

Mining giant BHP also posted strong gains Tuesday, rising 2.65% after reporting that its underlying annual profit had increased 30% to $13.20 billion. Operating earnings from the company’s copper division reached $18.19 billion, surpassing the $14.53 billion generated by its traditional iron ore business, underscoring the increasing importance of copper to BHP’s overall earnings mix. Argo Investments portfolio manager Andy Forster offered a succinct assessment of the result. “Solid overall, and copper doing all the work,” Forster said, reflecting broader market commentary that gains in copper and healthcare had lifted the overall index Tuesday even as interest-rate-sensitive sectors, including the major banks, lagged behind.

Banks acted as the primary drag on Tuesday’s session, with the sector continuing to face pressure from concerns over the interest rate outlook. National Australia Bank slumped 4.7% amid investor concerns that a proposed repeal of property-investment tax breaks could weigh on the bank’s future earnings and credit growth, according to Trading Economics.

Wednesday’s pullback has been driven in significant part by a sharp fall in gold prices overnight. According to CNBC, gold futures fell 1.8% to $4,394 an ounce as traders sold off the precious metal following a surge in global bond yields to their highest levels in decades. That decline is expected to weigh heavily on ASX-listed gold miners, including Westgold Resources and Northern Star Resources, both of which were flagged as likely to face a difficult session Wednesday given their direct exposure to the falling gold price.

Wednesday’s session also carries added significance given the scheduled release of Australia’s Wage Price Index at 11:30 a.m. AEST. The previous quarter’s wage growth figure came in at 0.8%, with annual wage growth running at 3.3%. Economists and investors are watching the release closely given its potential to shift interest rate expectations across several rate-sensitive sectors, including banking, property and retail.

A busy slate of corporate earnings continued to roll out Wednesday, with Santos, Evolution Mining, Temple & Webster, Breville, Mirvac and Whitehaven Coal all scheduled to release results during the session. Among the more notable individual results, one electrical and communications contractor delivered record profitability despite a 10.3% decline in revenue to $718.7 million, as project completions tied to the CBESS and Western Sydney International Airport Terminal developments wound down during the first half. Gross profit for that company rose 29.1% to a record $136.7 million, with gross margin expanding significantly to 19.0% from 13.2% a year earlier. Underlying net profit after tax rose 24.3% to $39.4 million, though statutory net profit fell 77.6% to $7.1 million due to $46.1 million in costs tied to a dispute over the WestConnex toll road project. The company lifted its total fully franked dividend by 33.3% to 10.0 cents per share, including a record final dividend of 7.5 cents, while maintaining a record cash balance of $261.5 million and no outstanding debt.

Separately, a finance and insurance-focused company reported its loan book had grown a further 7.5% since March, with arrears holding up well, while reiterating a medium-term target of $100 million in net profit before tax by fiscal 2031 as it continues expanding its auto retail branch network.

Wednesday’s session also featured a notable ex-dividend adjustment affecting the broader index, with shares tied to a $2.70 fully franked dividend beginning trading ex-dividend at the ASX’s opening phase at 9:59:45 a.m. AEST, a technical adjustment that tends to exert modest automatic downward pressure on the headline index independent of broader market sentiment.

Looking at the broader context, the ASX 200 remains well below the all-time high of 9,198.6 points it reached in February, having settled closer to the 8,800 level by July before recovering ground through the current August earnings season. With reporting season continuing through the remainder of the week alongside Wednesday’s wage data release, investors are likely to remain focused on how individual corporate results, particularly from the mining, energy and consumer sectors still due to report, continue to shape the index’s trajectory against a backdrop of volatile gold prices and rising global bond yields.

Mumbai: Indian markets remained under pressure on Tuesday, with the Nifty ending lower for the sixth straight trading session, as the rebound in oil prices amid the lingering West Asia conflict and persistent volatility around the Closing Auction Session (CAS) kept traders on the toes.

NSE’s Nifty fell 132.75 points, or 0.55%, to close at 24,154.9. The BSE Sensex declined 492.7 points, or 0.6%, to end at 77,235.46.

“Markets remained under pressure as there have been no positive cues from the US-Iran talks, especially with the MOU having expired and crude oil prices moving higher,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities.

Brent crude October futures were trading near the $91-a-barrel mark on Tuesday and have remained in the $85-$90 range over the past week. Chouhan said oil sustaining above the $85 mark is a key concern, as it raises inflationary risks, which is already reflected in the sharp rise in US 10-year and 30-year bond yields. “We believe this could lead to outflows from both emerging and developed equity markets,” he said.

The price adjustments on account of the CAS resulted in the benchmark indices dropping nearly 0.2% in the last 15 minutes before trade close.

Chouhan said the volatility seen during the CAS session is largely due to lower participation.
On Tuesday, FPIs net bought shares worth ₹1,651.5 crore. Domestic institutional investors were buyers to the tune of ₹2,579 crore. The Nifty Midcap 150 fell 0.4%, while the Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 0.2%. Of the total 4,530 stocks on the BSE, 1,890 advanced and 2,426 declined.
In Asia, Japan fell 2.5%, South Korea declined 1.55%, Taiwan dropped 1.2%, while China advanced 0.2% and Hong Kong rose 0.1%. The STOXX 600 index was down 0.5% at the time of going to press.

Read more: Regulatory tailwinds to boost growth for MCX, says HDFC Securities, retains Buy for 18% gains

Technical indicators suggest the indices could move in a band in the near term. “The market’s sentiment has shifted, with the index now consolidating within the 24,000-24,500 range, and this phase of consolidation could continue over the next few trading sessions,” said Dharmesh Shah, head of technical research at ICICI Securities.

Shah said after 1,100-point rally, the Nifty is undergoing a retracement and may find support in the 23,900-24,000 zone before resuming its upward trajectory towards the upper end of the channel at 24,500-24,600. “While Q1 earnings was better than expected, a decline in crude oil prices, a reversal in US 10-year bond yields, or a de-escalation of tensions in West Asia could act as positive catalysts and trigger the market’s next rally,” said Shah.

Apple’s decision to put iPhones, iPads and Macs on a formal leasing model in the United States looks at first like a consumer-finance story.

For UK SMEs, it raises a much more interesting question: when smartphones are essential work tools that depreciate quickly, is outright ownership still the best way to buy them?

As Business Matters reported when Apple Upgrade launched, Apple has partnered with Klarna to offer 12- and 24-month leases on iPhones and Apple Watches, with longer terms on Macs and iPads. Customers can return the hardware, buy it outright or enter a new lease at the end of the term. The scheme is US-only for now, but the structure is a useful preview of where business-device procurement may be heading.

Why leasing looks attractive to smaller businesses

The obvious appeal is cash flow. Buying 20 premium smartphones in one month creates a visible capital hit; spreading the cost over a predictable term makes budgeting easier and keeps cash available for payroll, marketing or growth. It also aligns the device payment with the period during which staff actually use the hardware.

Klarna’s official announcement says Apple Upgrade lets users trade in an existing device at the start to reduce the monthly cost, then choose whether to return, buy or upgrade at the end. That model removes some of the friction around keeping a fleet current.

But ownership has something leasing hides: residual value

A company-owned phone is not just an expense. Until it is written off, lost or left in a cupboard, it is also a resaleable asset. That matters because recent flagship phones can retain hundreds of pounds of value long after they have been replaced operationally.

For illustration, SellMyPhone’s iPhone 16 Pro comparison showed a leading offer of about £511 for a working device when checked in August 2026. Twenty similar handsets would therefore represent more than £10,000 of gross resale value before any bulk pricing, condition adjustments or business-specific terms are considered. The exact number changes daily, but the principle is important: a fleet has an exit value.

Businesses that own their hardware can recover that value through a structured business phone recycling process rather than simply returning every device to a lessor. That residual value belongs in the total-cost calculation from day one.

Lease versus buy: the total-cost question

The wrong comparison is monthly lease payment versus purchase price. The useful comparison is the total cost of providing a working phone to an employee for two or three years after financing, insurance, repairs, administration and residual value are all included.

Factor	Own the fleet	Lease the fleet
Upfront cash	Higher	Lower
Monthly predictability	Medium	High
Hardware control	High	Subject to lease terms
Residual value	Retained by business	Usually surrendered unless bought out
Upgrade administration	Managed internally	Can be simpler
End-of-life process	Business must manage securely	Return process may be built in
Flexibility to keep devices longer	High	Depends on agreement

For a five-person creative agency, the administrative simplicity of leasing may be worth paying for. For a 200-device field workforce that already has IT asset-management processes, retaining the residual value could materially change the economics. There is no universal answer.

The hidden cost is poor lifecycle management

The biggest mistake is not necessarily choosing the wrong finance model. It is buying phones, replacing them every two or three years, and then failing to close the loop. A £500 device that sits unused for 12 months is not a £500 asset any more. It is a depreciating asset that no employee is using.

That is why SMEs should treat mobile hardware like any other managed business asset. Record the model, storage, condition, assigned employee, purchase date and planned replacement date. When a device leaves service, wipe it securely, obtain a market valuation and make a deliberate decision to redeploy, sell or recycle it.

A leasing trend could change how firms think about phones

Apple Upgrade does not yet give UK SMEs a new procurement option, and it would be premature to assume the US model will be copied here unchanged. What it does do is challenge an old assumption: that buying the handset is automatically the normal way to provide mobile technology.

As subscription and device-as-a-service models spread, finance directors should ask a more disciplined question. Do we want the lowest upfront cost, the simplest replacement cycle, or the best whole-life return from the asset?

Three questions to ask before the next fleet refresh

• What is the true two- or three-year cost per employee after resale value is deducted?
• Who owns the residual value at the end of the agreement?
• Does the business have a reliable process for wiping, collecting and selling redundant devices quickly?

For firms that buy outright, the final question is especially important. A company can use SellMyPhone’s business comparison service to put multiple devices in front of UK recyclers, obtain competing quotes and arrange certified data erasure rather than treating end-of-life hardware as an afterthought.

Apple’s leasing experiment may or may not become the dominant model. But it has made one thing clearer: smartphones are now significant business assets with a financing cost, an operational life and an exit value. SMEs that measure all three will make better procurement decisions than those that focus only on the monthly bill.

Gold prices edged higher in early Asian trade on Wednesday as U.S. Treasury yields eased from recent highs, while market participants awaited the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $4,342.33 per ounce, as of 0030 GMT after falling nearly 2% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, U.S. gold futures for December delivery ‌edged 0.6% ⁠lower to $4,396.30.
⁠U.S. yields backed off earlier highs, switching directions amid a global bond selloff that saw ​long-term borrowing costs in major economies edge toward their highest levels in decades. [US/]

U.S. ​President Donald Trump said no talks were taking place with Iran and insisted the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting Iran’s assertion that the critical ​waterway remained shut to shipping. The receding prospects ⁠of a ‌deal to end the nearly six-month conflict drove up oil ​prices. [O/R]

Rising ​energy prices could bolster the case for higher interest ⁠rates to rein in inflation, despite recent U.S. economic indicators ​showing unexpected employment losses, milder inflation, and weak July ​retail spending.

Despite gold being known as an inflation hedge, higher rates usually weigh on gold prices as they strengthen the dollar and make yield-bearing assets more attractive to investors.
The Fed’s release of minutes from the most recent meeting of its monetary policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee is ‌due at 1800 GMT.Traders are currently pricing in a 65% probability that the U.S. central bank will keep rates ​unchanged and a ​35% chance of ⁠a rate hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England will leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75% for the rest of the year, according to a strong majority of economists polled by Reuters.

Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.5% to $62.99 per ounce. Platinum climbed 0.3% to $1,717.03, while palladium lost 0.3% at $1,286.73.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0600 UK Core CPI YY Jul

0600 UK CPI YY Jul

0600 UK CPI Services MM, YY Jul

0600 EU HICP Final MM, YY Jul