BOLTON-born property developer Carol Ainscow has been hailed as one of the "unsung heroes of the renaissance of Manchester."

The leader of Manchester City Council, Cllr Richard Leese, made the comment at a glittering launch party for a multi-million pound "digital district" - expressnetworks - which Carol has created in part of the former Daily Express complex in Ancoats.

It is the first managed facility for Internet and new media companies in the North of England and features modern communications services such as video-conferencing.

The development is the first phase of an ambitious scheme which seeks to support modern design, media and technology companies in an area which was once home to dozens of mills during the industrial revolution.

It is being carried out by Carol's company, Artisan Holdings Ltd.

Cllr Leese said during the launch: "Carol is a real star entrepreneur for Manchester.

"She has been prepared to take risks which a lot of national and international companies were not prepared to take."

He said the "knowledge-based" development was what Manchester needed.

"This is the industrial future of Manchester," he said.

Carol, aged 40, was brought up in Deane and went to St Peter and Paul's primary school and Mount St Joseph's grammar school.

She trained as a teacher, but went instead into life insurance sales and accumulated £15,000 which she ploughed into her first property in 1982 -- the 25-bedroom Lynwood private residential care home in Seymour Road, Astley Bridge.

This was followed by the acquisition of the Shorefield Nursing Home at Dunscar Fold and various flat and shop projects in the Russell Street and Tonge Moor Road areas.

Her subsequent high-profile ventures in Manchester -- including turning the former Factory Records HQ into the three-storey Paradise night club -- have made her a major player at a time when the city is determined to re-invent itself for the future.

She had made her first million by the time she was 27.

Her first venture into Manchester city centre was the award-winning gay cafe/bar on Canal Street and she has been responsible since for several loft-style developments in the city.

She currently has homes in Bolton and Manchester.

Carol said during the launch party that she thought expressnetworks was one of the most impressive office spaces in Manchester and thought it would eventually accommodate about 500 people.

"I would envisage it will be fully let in the next few weeks," she said.

"The amount of response has been phenomenal."

The expressnetworks project will also include residential accommodation and a cafe bar/restaurant.

Business communications specialist Norweb Telecom is connecting the project to its fibre-optic network in a £1.2m deal to provide broadband voice and data services.

Mr Hugh Logan, managing director, said: "This development will provide a nucleus for Manchester's digital industry.

"The region has a fantastic variety of hi-tech businesses and a 'digital district' will start to bring them together allowing them to share ideas and innovations."