MD Leaps From Salford’s MediaCity
IF you are looking for reasons to be cheerful don’t look toward the Corporate division of the Bank of Scotland.
Anorak receives news of MediaCityUK, the 200 acre site at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, and a subsidiary of the property company Peel Holdings.
Last November, Peel, allegedly, secured £360m of debt facilities from the Bank of Scotland to help finance MCUK’s development.
Peel’s MediaCity UK…management defenestration?
There could be a nervous twitching going on in Edinburgh since the man brought in to oversee the setting up of the £500m media city complex at the Quays has quit a year after being appointed.
Brian Greasley, who was head-hunted by Peel Holdings which controls the 200-acre site, has quit as managing director of MediaCityUK.
Peel said the 46-year-old is “now looking forward to seeking new challenges”. The company says Greasley’s responsibilities will be taken on temporarily by Andrew Simpson, the group managing director of Peel Holdings, overseeing an already in-place team.
Greasley was not employed at the time of his appointment as the MD of MediCityUK. He was previously MD of Digital Bridges (I-Play) and a former general manager of BT Cellnet’s Genie Internet.
His six-figure appointment was made by Peel which knew Greasley’s last full-time role was at Digital Bridges in Fife, Scotland. The company traded as I-Play and was to corner games on mobile phones. It was big. It was bright. It opened offices around the world. It burned out.
The bubble burst and Greasley was replaced before Digital Bridges was sold at a loss to Oberon Media of New York for around $100m. The, mainly Scottish, big backers had few reasons to be cheerful then.
Before Digital Bridges, which he joined in 2002, Greasley was general manager at Genie Internet which was owned by BT Cellnet.
That was not quite the image presented by Simpson in the Peel announcement of November last year:
“Brian Greasley has over 20 years experience spanning telecoms, media, internet and venture capital. His previous roles have included Chief Executive of I-Play, a world leader in the creation of entertainment channels and gaming for mobile devices, Founder and Managing Director of Genie Internet and Entrepreneur in Residence at Apax.”
MediaCityUK was supposed to be the first all-in-one Media site it has a cracking little walk around website… one to watch in parlous times?
Maybe the BBC, which is to occupy part of the site, can feature it…
As the Media City slogan tells us: “It’s all about connections…”
– AGW
Posted: 13th, November 2008 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
