IMI deal makes it 110,000 sq ft of offices let on Birmingham Business Park in 2014!
KWB has seen a great year for office lettings at Birmingham Business Park, acting on behalf of Canmoor Properties and as joint agents alongside JLL and GVA. With IMI’s relocation to 4060 Lakeside, we’ve now seen 110,000 sq ft of office space let at Birmingham Business Park in 2014, representing over one third of the total transactions for office space in Solihull and the M42 out-of-town market.
Canmoor purchased Birmingham Business Park in late 2013 and retained JLL, GVA and KWB to market the remaining office space. Since the acquisition, void office space has dropped in their ownership from 17% to 4% – an incredible increase in take-up. New occupiers include eQ Technologic, Babcock, Longcross Construction and Chalcroft.
Most recently, we’ve seen IMI raise its commitment to Birmingham Business Park by moving from 4040 Lakeside to the adjacent 36,000 sq ft 4060 Lakeside, the largest, highest specified office building currently available on the Park. IMI increased its occupancy by 8,000 sq ft in this deal, in order to accommodate the relocation of a subsidiary company. Furthermore, there has been great interest in their previous building, 4040, with an announcement to be made soon. Elsewhere on the Park, Capita Business Services has signed a new lease at its offices in Knights Court.
KWB partner, Mark Robinson, says “Birmingham Business Park has succeeded through its attraction to a wide variety of business sectors, which has meant demand has been more sustainable than other locations. For example, this year we’ve seen occupiers in the automotive, TMT (technology, media and telecoms), recruitment, engineering and consultancy sectors take up space on the Park, proving it to be a sound investment for Canmoor.”
Rob Large, Director of Canmoor Asset Management, is extremely pleased with the success of Birmingham Business Park: “To have attracted such a range of occupiers since we acquired the site is testament to the quality of the buildings, the superior working environment and, of course, the marketing efforts of our team.”
Set within 148 acres of mature parkland, Birmingham Business Park provides c. 1.9 million sq ft of high quality office space adjacent to the NEC, Birmingham Airport, and Junction 4 of the M6 and Junction 6 of the M42, giving access to the wider national motorway network.
Rob Large continued: “We had genuine belief that we were acquiring the premier out-of-town business park in the region and this has been more than illustrated by its great success. I feel absolutely certain that Birmingham Business Park will continue to attract further occupiers over the coming months and years as more businesses recognise and appreciate the great facilities here.”
Birmingham Business Park is currently home to over 100 occupiers including EE, Beiersdorf, Hewlett Packard, Fujitsu and Aero Engine Controls. Several other deals are expected to be announced shortly. Canmoor will be carrying out a rolling programme of refurbishment over the coming 12 months to further upgrade the range of available units. These range from 1,800 sq ft to over 25,000 sq ft, with quoting rents from £16.50. Larger occupiers can also benefit from Design & Build packages on the Park.
For more information please contact Mark Robinson on 0121 212 5994 or emailmrobinson@kwboffice.com.
(Top image features, from left to right: Rob Large, Director of Canmoor Asset Management, John Bryce, partner at KWB, Jonathan Carmalt, Director at JLL and Adrian Griffiths, Associate at GVA)
