British Land Make First Birmingham Move

British Land Make First Birmingham Move

Developer British Land have made a move out of the capital with their first office scheme in Birmingham. British Land have spent £21 million on the site that is currently occupied by the National Westminster House to secure it for their redevelopment plans.

Located in the central business district on Colmore Row, the existing occupier was built for the National Westminster Bank. At 80 metres in height with 23 floors the current building has a mere 7,200 square metres of space and is severly dated not to mention a rather unattractive block on the skyline thanks to the hard seventies design.

The developers expect to have a finished replacement scheme of 18,850 in the form of a tower. Bought for only £21 million, the acquisition should have an end development value of perhaps £120 million if everything goes according to plan.

Birmingham City Council are already understood to be supportive of a tower containing over 18,000 square metres of space, perhaps worried that Manchester has stolen some of their shine in recent years and mindful that they have the crown of "Britain's Second City" to protect.

This is the first real move that British Land have made with their leading brand in Birmingham. The existing developments by the company tend to be concentrated in London so a grade A quality tower by such a prestigious company would be a major boost to the confidence of Brum's office market that is dominated by local companies such as Richardson Cordwell and Miller Developments.

Bullish demand from occupiers has sent values rocketing in the area and with the promise of success on the horizon, the big boys from London now want a piece of the action.

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