M42 / Solihull office market 2023 review

The M42 and Solihull office market 2023 remained active throughout the year with annual take-up totalling 133,337 sq ft across 33 transactions.

Neither this nor the Q4 figures were representative of the activity currently in play considering the number and size of deals that were close to completion at year end. These will have carried over into 2024, boosting the outlook for both Q1 and Q2.

Kings Court, Birmingham Business Park
Kings Court, Birmingham Business Park

M42 / Solihull office market annual take-up (sq ft)

2 6 , 6 2 7

total take-up (sq ft)

1 3 , 4 3 0

largest transaction (sq ft)

8

total transactions

2 9 5 , 2 6 9

10-year average (sq ft)

Q4 2023 saw 8 deals totalling 26,627 sq ft.

This represents 20% of annual take-up of 133,337 sq ft. 

This compares with 31% in Q3, with 5 deals totalling 41,497 sq ft. 

Q4 2023 at a glance

Birmingham Business Park, which accounted for 34% of take-up across 9 transactions in the Solihull office market 2023

Key Solihull and M42 office transactions

8 deals account for 20% of 2023 annual take-up

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6060 Knights Court, Birmingham Business Park, which accounted for the largest deal of Q4 by serviced office provider, IWG, for 13,430 sq ft

IWG expands and secures Q4’s largest deal

Serviced office provider occupies 13,430 sq ft on Birmingham Business Park

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Ingenuity House, Solihull where serviced office operator, Orega, accounted for the largest deal of the Solihull office market 2023

Orega takes 2024’s largest letting at Ingenuity House

In Q3, 30,633 sq ft went to the serviced office operator

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4020 Lakeside, Birmingham Business Park where global fleet management specialists Holman took 15,896 sq ft in Q2 of the Solihull office market 2023

Holman leads resurgence in fleet management transactions

Inward investment sees Holman take 15,896 sq ft at 4020 Lakeside

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Wingfield Court, Coleshill where housebuilder Avant Homes took 6,938 sq ft in the M42 and Solihull office market 2023

Renaissance of Coleshill in Q4

This year saw several office transactions take place in Coleshill

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Reception of Nelson House, Blythe Valley Park - the latest building to become available for lease at Blythe Valley Park in Solihull.

Newly-refurbished Nelson House hits the market

Self-contained 14,792 sq ft building joins Blythe Valley Park

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AIR, Solihull - an exceptional landmark office building in Solihull town centre

New buildings set the standard on sustainability and wellness

Solihull’s AIR and Vienna House provide impressive, contemporary environments

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CGI of HS2 Interchange, Solihull

Green light for new transportation links

Solihull Council secured £300,000 transportation funding

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Aerial view of Blythe Valley Park, Solihull

Outlook for the Solihull office market 2024

Advice for occupiers and landlords

Read further
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Key Solihull and M42 office transactions

The quarter’s largest deal was by serviced office provider, IWG, for 13,430 sq ft at 6060 Knights Court, Birmingham Business Park. The majority of Q4’s transactions (7) were under 5,000 sq ft. In terms of location, deals were split between properties at Birmingham Business Park (3) and Coleshill (3). There was also one deal in Solihull town centre, and one in the fringe area of Hockley Heath. This demonstrates the alternative opportunities that lie outside of larger business parks for businesses who would prefer smaller premises and who don’t need to be so close to the motorway. 

Office buildingSize (sq ft)LocationOccupierSector
6060 Knights Court13,430Birmingham Business ParkIWGServiced offices
6130 Knights Court3,057Birmingham Business ParkGalldrisCivil engineering
The Gardens, Coleshill Manor2,873ColeshillRemmers (UK)Building materials
2450 Regents Court2,659Birmingham Business ParkAttireWorkwear
Total22,01983% of quarterly take-up, 4 transactions

Sub 5,000 sq ft spaces prove most popular 

Throughout the year, we saw a preference towards office space under 5,000 sq ft in the M42 and Solihull office market 2023. Of the year’s 33 transactions, 27 of these were for space under 5,000 sq ft, with businesses typically located at Birmingham Business Park, Coleshill or Solihull town centre. These sites offer easy access to the J4-J6 M42 corridor and there was clear commercial confidence in, and appeal of, the M42 and Solihull. 

With this in mind, it makes sense that we saw less interest in locations outside of this core area. From Bromsgrove and Redditch further south, to Shirley and Hockley Heath along the M42 North, we saw less stock and fewer transactions in the office market within these locations. 

Solihull’s flexible office sector flourishes

In 2023, hybrid working continued to feature in both the Birmingham and out-of-town markets. 

Serviced office providers accounted for 33% of take-up in Solihull and the M42 – the largest proportion by sector, followed by professional services at 17%. The year’s two largest serviced office deals totalled 44,063 sq ft, with Orega occupying Ingenuity House in Q3 and IWG at 6060 Knights Court, Birmingham Business Park. 

The majority of professional services transactions were across commercial property, construction consultancy and civil engineering. After Holman, Galldris and JBA Consulting, businesses took up smaller premises below 2,000 sq ft at locations including Dominion Court in Solihull town centre and Knights Court at Birmingham Business Park. While construction transactions were down compared with 2022, we still saw one of the largest transactions of the year from Avant Homes with 6,938 sq ft at Wingfield Court in Coleshill (Q2). 

Other industries that performed well in 2023’s office market were fleet management, education, recruitment and training. We also noticed an increase in transactions among education companies in Birmingham city centre – a sign that this sector is one to watch over the next 12 months.  

Birmingham Business Park, which accounted for 34% of take-up across 9 transactions in the Solihull office market 2023
Birmingham Business Park

Top 10 transactions in the M42 and Solihull office market 2023 (sq ft)

QuarterOffice buildingSize (sq ft)LocationOccupierSector
Q3Ingenuity House30,633Birmingham Business ParkOregaServiced offices
Q24020 Lakeside15,896Birmingham Business ParkHolmanFleet management
Q46060 Knights Court13,430Birmingham Business ParkIWGServiced offices
Q2Wingfield Court6,938ColeshillAvant HomesHousebuilder
Q3Highlands House5,737Cranmore, ShirleyEnergymGym equipment
Q1Avon Business Centre5,005ShirleyEnergy & Utility SkillsTraining and education
Q22 Ravenscourt4,757RedditchFizz GroupEducation supplies
Q25 The Courtyard4,500BromsgroveMontvieuxIT
Q12660 Kings Court4,158Birmingham Business ParkLeaf Complex CareCare
Q13 Brooklands3,500RedditchAutoMoney Motor Finance (Mobile Money)Financial services
Total94,55471% of take-up, 10 transactions

IWG expands and secures Q4’s largest deal

The business, which provides hybrid working space with brands including Spaces and Regus, added 867 new locations globally in 2023 and saw its highest ever quarterly revenue in Q4. This is a strong sign of the rapid network growth for flexible working space.  

Knights Court joins IWG’s estate of serviced offices across various locations in Solihull, including the ground floor of the Comet Building at Birmingham Airport, and 4200 Solihull Parkway on Birmingham Business Park. 

6060 Knights Court is a comprehensively refurbished, Grade A, self-contained office building over two storeys. It offers bright, open workspaces, as well as excellent commuter facilities including showers and electric vehicle charging points.  

The building occupies a convenient location on the Business Park with added benefits including an outdoor gym, landscaped outdoor spaces and a number of retail and leisure units close by. 

Also joining IWG at Knights Court in Q4 was civil engineering company, Galldris, which took 3,057 sq ft. 

On the positive leasing activity for serviced offices, Jane Erasmus, Sales and Marketing Director at UBC, said: UBC Birmingham Business Park at 1310 Parkway in Solihull saw a strong sales performance during 2023 despite a backdrop of increasing operating costs. Whilst overall enquiry volumes were down nearly 30% on 2022, the quality of enquiries was much improved with businesses ready to make decisions and commit to space. This resulted in occupancy increasing during the year and the serviced office centre reported 94% occupancy at year-end with profitability up 22% on the previous year’s figures.”

6060 Knights Court, Birmingham Business Park, which accounted for the largest deal of Q4 by serviced office provider, IWG, for 13,430 sq ft
6060 Knights Court, Birmingham Business Park

Occupier lettings at Birmingham Business Park in 2023

QuarterOffice buildingSize (sq ft)OccupierSector
Q24020 Lakeside15,896HolmanFleet management
Q46060 Knights Court13,430IWGServiced offices
Q12660 Kings Court4,158Leaf Complex CareCare
Q46130 Knights Court3,057GalldrisCivil engineering
Q42450 Regents Court2,659AttireWorkwear
Q26170 Knights Court1,874Mix TelematicsFleet management
Q22625 Kings Court1,578Combat StressCharity
Q13120 Park Square1,439Praesidiad GroupSecurity / Fencing
Q26110 Knights Court1,328Goodrich ConsultingConstruction consulting
Total45,41934% of take-up, 9 transactions

Orega takes 2024’s largest letting at Ingenuity House

The largest deal of the Solihull office market 2023 saw serviced office operator, Orega, take space at Ingenuity House at Bickenhill Lane, Solihull, in Q3.

A Partnership Agreement with the building’s owners, abrdn, saw Orega take 30,633 sq ft across the ground and first floors of the 5-storey, 114,634 sq ft building.   

Orega and abrdn have created a high-specification, flexible workspace of 550 workstations targeting the area’s professional and financial businesses. It comes as no surprise that Orega has already secured an early, pre-completion letting to a major financial services business at the property, which will take 150 desks on the first floor – a testament to the calibre of businesses requiring flexible office space. 

This unique building epitomises modern-day, flexible working and gives tenants access to a wide variety of different working zones, including dedicated training and breakout areas, and self-bookable meeting rooms.  

A stand-out feature of the building is its huge, design-led communal atrium, where tenants can enjoy hospitality-led amenities and facilities. In keeping with evolving workplace demographics and requirements, the versatile building boasts several wellbeing facilities, including: 

  • More space per person than the industry norm 
  • On-site shower and changing facilities 
  • Unlimited barista-quality coffee 
  • Secure cycle parking 
  • Car parking and EV charging points 

Ingenuity House is regarded as one of the most sustainable properties in the UK  and optimises energy efficiency with an EPC-B rating, BREEAM Excellent and 76 solar panels. 

Ingenuity House, Solihull where serviced office operator, Orega, accounted for the largest deal of the Solihull office market 2023
Ingenuity House, Solihull

Michelle Mills, CBRE’s out-of-town specialist, said: “The addition of flex space at Ingenuity House will be a draw not only to footloose occupiers looking for high quality accommodation, but also to larger tenants who wish to take dedicated space, but can scale-up as they grow within the building. It undoubtedly further boosts the appeal of this high spec and prominently located landmark office space. 

Holman leads resurgence in fleet management transactions

Following a freeze in fleet management transactions in 2022, the sector picked back up in Q2 of 2023, where we saw two deals for global fleet management specialists at Birmingham Business Park.

Most notably, Holman took 15,896 sq ft at 4020 Lakeside. The deal came as the business signed a seven-year deal with BT, a contract understood to have been one of the largest of its kind in history, involving 37,000 commercial vehicles. 

Holman’s new site helped its workforce expand to over 300 employees, with 100 new jobs created so far in the Midlands across maintenance technician and customer service operative roles. 

We anticipate 4020 Lakeside performing well in 2024. Traditionally a prime location for large lettings in Birmingham’s out-of-town office market, sizeable deals like IWG’s are now increasingly rare – as stock on the Park has been snapped up over recent years. As a result, there’s a current shortage of large space available at the Park; so if you’re in the market for new commercial office space and considering Birmingham Business Park, we would recommend you act quickly. 

In Q2, fleet and mobile asset management solution, Mix Telematics, joined 6170 Knights Court nearby, taking 1,874 sq ft of space.  

4020 Lakeside, Birmingham Business Park where global fleet management specialists Holman took 15,896 sq ft in Q2 of the Solihull office market 2023
4020 Lakeside, Birmingham Business Park

Renaissance of Coleshill in Q4

From housebuilder Avant Homes’s 6,938 sq ft at Wingfield Court, to Holborn’s 828 sq ft at De Montfort House, Coleshill secured 8 deals across different sizes in 2023.

While there weren’t as many deals secured as in 2022 (12), we did see the majority of Coleshill’s transactions taking place during Q4 2023. In total, the 3 deals in Q4 totalled 4,924 sq ft, representing 18% of the quarter’s take-up across the M42 and Solihull market 2023. 

This tells us that while the business parks close to the M42 , NEC and Birmingham Airport are popular, there are still plenty of opportunities for businesses looking to take up premises in fringe areas of Solihull.

Wingfield Court, Coleshill where housebuilder Avant Homes took 6,938 sq ft in the M42 and Solihull office market 2023
Wingfield Court, Coleshill

Transactions in Coleshill in 2023

QuarterOffice buildingSize (sq ft)OccupierSector
Q2Wingfield Court6,938Avant HomesHousebuilder
Q4The Gardens, Coleshill Manor2,873Remmers (UK)Building materials
Q3De Montfort House2,432Mercury xRMRecruitment software
Q3Coleshill House2,103JBA ConsultingEnvironmental consultants
Q1Coleshill House1,600Salvino Del BeneTransport
Q4St Philips Courtyard1,035Dr Danielle Grey Psychological ServicesHealthcare
Q418 The Courtyard1,016Aesthetic Nurse SoftwareSoftware / TMT
Q2De Montfort House828HolbornM&E
Total18,82514% of take-up, 8 transactions

Newly-refurbished Nelson House hits the market

Nelson House is the latest building to become available for lease at Blythe Valley Park in Solihull.

The self-contained, headquarters-style building features 14,492 sq ft of office space across three floors. As you enter an impressive, full-height reception, you can access the upper floors via a 10-person passenger lift or steel and glass staircase. 

Set within landscaped grounds and clad in polished granite, the building is intersected with double-glazed powder-coated windows and offers excellent natural light. It has been re-decorated and carpeted throughout and has suspended ceilings fitted with new LED lighting.  

In a prime location on Blythe Valley Park’s Central Boulevard, Nelson House joins over 25 occupiers including Gymshark, Oracle and Taylor Wimpey. With employee health and wellness high on the agenda in recent years, tenants at Blythe Valley benefit from a range of on-site amenities, including Virgin Active Gym, Java Roastery Coffee, Co-op and Busy Bees Nursery. 

KWB is marketing the building on behalf of owners and director, Malcolm Jones, said: “It’s rare and exciting for a building of this size and quality located at the centre of the UK transport network to become available. We’re already seeing significant interest and don’t expect it to be on the market for long.” 

Nelson House has space for a small showroom and we can see this building appealing to industrial occupiers, as well as businesses in the automotive and medtech industries. We can see an example of medtech on the Park from 2022, when 5,327 sq ft of space at Cornwall House on Blythe Valley was taken by SpaMedica, one of the UK’s leading providers of NHS eye patient services and, as of 2018, the largest NHS cataract surgery provider in the UK. The company opened a modern, state-of-the-art eye hospital at Blythe Valley to support patients with treatment programmes for NHS cataract surgery, age-related macular degeneration and YAG laser treatment.  

Reception of Nelson House, Blythe Valley Park - the latest building to become available for lease at Blythe Valley Park in Solihull.
Nelson House, Blythe Valley Park, Solihull

New buildings set the standard on sustainability and wellness

More developments are catering to the shifting expectations of workplace environments – and Solihull’s AIR and Vienna House buildings are no exceptions.

As an exceptional landmark within Solihull town centre and a flagship architectural building, AIR offers 69,000 sq ft of reinvigorated, Grade A workspace. The impressive office space combines sustainable timber and finished stonework with contemporary lighting in the reception and atrium to offer unrivalled style and spaciousness. 

Comprehensively refurbished for the modern occupier, AIR is a benchmark building of sustainability and wellbeing, with features including: 

  • WiredScore-accredited with Platinum rating
  • EPC-B
  • Electric vehicle chargers
  • Triple-height external canopy
  • Business lounge / coffee bar
  • Fitness studio
  • Cycle hub with 84 bike racks and 12 brompton bike lockers and 6 external bike spaces
  • High-quality shower and changing facilities
  • Roof terrace with far reaching views over Tudor Grange Park

Another nearby building currently undergoing refurbishment is Vienna House – a modern, 3-storey office building on International Park, adjacent to Bickenhill Lane. 

Totalling 25,360 sq ft, the self-contained building offers an open plan, contemporary working environment that is rated EPC-A and adheres to the principles of BREEAM ‘Very Good’. The smart-enabled building is controlled using a Tenant App that allows occupiers to enhance their use of the offices, while optimising cost and reducing carbon. 

According to Forbes, 87% of employees now consider health and wellness offerings when choosing an employer. Vienna House addresses these demands with an external wellbeing building that includes: 

  • Male and female showers
  • Changing rooms
  • Drying rooms
  • Lockers
  • Cycle store

As part of Vienna House’s impressive environmental credentials, the building also has PV panels, four EV charging points and commuting facilities. 

While sustainability and wellness may previously have felt like buzzwords, they are trends that will only continue to grow. As we look to the rest of 2024 and the years approaching the UK’s 2030 sustainability goals, we can expect to see more commercial property developers and investors enhancing their properties in different ways.

AIR, Solihull - an exceptional landmark office building in Solihull town centre
AIR, Solihull town centre

Outlook for the Solihull office market 2024

Advice for occupiers 

When we consider the success of fringe areas such as Coleshill, it’s apparent that occupiers don’t necessarily need to be located on sites such as Birmingham Business Park and Blythe Valley if they don’t need client-facing facilities. The question begs to be asked – can these sites facilitate occupiers taking under 5,000 sq ft? 

With very little freehold space in the current market, we’re seeing low supply and high demand. So, if you’re thinking of selling or have a lease break coming up this year, now is a good time to make a move. 

We’d advise taking advice early on and clearly acknowledge what your company’s unique property requirements are. Do you need to be within a few minutes of the motorway, or would town centre facilities suit you better? Then look at your workforce requirement. How does your team prefer to work? How could you enhance their experience of the working environment, and potentially lower your energy usage and cost, with sustainability and wellbeing facilities? More companies are taking these themes seriously and creating new working cultures, and we recommend taking these steps now to remain competitive as you look to recruit and retain top talent. 

Advice for landlords 

In the market for a refurbishment? Then you’ll need to go back to basics and comprehensively refurbish the space. You’ll want to aim for a Grade A specification with an EPC-A rating or B at the minimum. By creating light, spacious and welcoming working environments that place equal importance on wellbeing and sustainability, your property is likely to succeed in 2024.

Aerial view of Blythe Valley Park, Solihull
Blythe Valley Park, Solihull
Exterior at Ingenuity House, Solihull

View all transactions

2023 transactions

Birmingham Business Park aerial shot

Stay tuned for Q1 2024!

Q3 2023