Man Utd legend Gary Neville proves business clout with £400m investment days after Dragons Den announcement

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has proved his weight as a business tycoon just one week after his announcement as a special guest on Dragons Den by unveiling plans for a mammoth £400 million city centre development.

The former Premier League full-back is at the centre of the St Michael's plot which includes a five-star hotel and luxury flats. Work on the first phase of the project began last year but Neville shared that the concept had been in the works for 15 years, predating his retirement at Old Trafford in 2011.

The project was hit with controversy when fought against by conservationists who disliked plans to knock down a pub and the front of the Bootle Street police station, something which Neville has now admitted was a 'huge mistake'.

The star told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money: "I don't know why or how I was thinking that at the time.

"I love old buildings, I have always renovated old buildings, the idea that we looked at that pub and the front of Bootle Street police station and thought we should knock it down, that was a huge mistake."

Posting a flythrough video of the construction plans on Instagram, the Sky Sports pundit wrote: "I’m so excited to finally share with you a project that has been 15 years in the making.

"Today is the launch of our £400m St Michael’s Manchester development. It’s an extraordinary scheme that we believe will be the first fully Net Zero Carbon commercial development in Manchester, something we’re very proud of.

"Phase one of the scheme will have 9 floors of office space, Chotto Matte on the rooftop restaurant and 2 F+B outlets. Later this summer we’ll begin Phase two with construction of a 41-storey tower which will host a 162-bed 5 Star international hotel brand and 217 luxury residences."

The latest business move from the former footballer comes one week after he was confirmed as a special guest on the upcoming series of hit BBC show Dragons Den.

Neville will pose as a Dragon alongside regulars Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett for episodes in Season 21.

Neville said: "I am excited to join the Dragons and to meet the entrepreneurs brave enough to face us in the Den. I hope my personal journey shows that you can take the experiences you've had in one part of your career and use them to do something entirely different and make it a success.

"Business is all about managing people and managing yourself and I'm looking forward to sharing my experience to help the entrepreneurs we'll meet in the Den reach their potential."