Black country boom

From second city to global city, Estates Review looks at why Birmingham has arguably more commercial potential than any other city

Anyone visiting Birmingham for the first time since the millennium could be forgiven for not recognising the place. It has successfully positioned itself over the last decade as a global destination in both business and leisure terms. World class commercial and mixed-use space, visitor attractions, stunning retail and leisure outlets along with new arts, culture and sports facilities have transformed the city’s image and skyline forever.

With £13.2bn of investment expected in the next ten years, with more than £10.4bn of this planned or already underway in the city centre alone, there has never been a better time to take a corporate address in this West Midlands city.

Experts have not been slow in spotting Birmingham’s potential: a recent report from business location consultants Cushman and Wakefield said the city was stealing the march on its UK counterparts in several ways.

The consultancy’s UK Cities Monitor identified that Birmingham was one of the four best cities in which to do business, coming top for new headquarters and back office functions and availability of office space and cost and availability of car parking.

Birmingham is also rated second only to London as the best UK business location. Cushman and Wakefield noted that the prime concern for corporates when considering relocation was the ease of recruiting qualified staff. This is an area where Birmingham also performs well.

Along with three academic centres of excellence in Aston and Birmingham Universities and the University of Central England, the city boasts the youngest population in Europe - with the highest proportion of under-16s in western Europe.

Organisations viewing Birmingham as a viable relocation option have the pick of several commercial developments, with a string of significant property deals in recent months raising the city’s game in the eyes of international investors.
The landmark £150m sale of the city’s Colmore Plaza development to a US private equity house; the smashing of the £30 per sq ft rental barrier; key announcements at its Eastside development and the arrival of influential property players in the city, such as British Land and Dandara, have all created a heady mix of excitement among investors in the first quarter of this year.

The sale of Colmore Plaza to the Carlyle Group is perhaps most significant of all the deals to date. Many observers in the city believe it will provide an invaluable kick-start to the city’s inward investment while also encouraging more developers to proceed with speculative projects in the city.

John Griffiths, from agent GBR Properties in Birmingham, says: “There is money coming into Birmingham from every sector, be it UK institutions, property companies, active funds, Germany, Ireland or the States. It is fantastic without any caveat.”

Elsewhere, the coming together of key projects in the city’s Eastside has also been a particular highlight. The completion of the first stage of the Masshouse development, together with the sale of Curzon Park and the appointment of leading architect Patel Taylor to design the new City Park, adds up to real progress as the city core is extended eastwards.

Work on the first phase of Birmingham’s Arena Central development is about to begin after Arena Central Developments reached agreement with development partner Dandara. With the legal partnership signed, Dandara has confirmed its commitment to deliver the “tower” at Arena Central which is currently envisaged to be 47 storeys.
Arena Central is a 7.6 acre site located on the city’s Westside. The site is bordered by Broad Street, Suffolk Street Queensway, Bridge Street and Holliday Street and is located opposite the International Convention Centre (ICC). Arena Central has outline planning for 2m sq ft of mixed-use development. The tower, which will be located adjacent to Alpha Tower, will have a mix of active uses at the lower levels but will be predominantly residential.

The masterplan principles developed by HOK for Arena Central have been finalised and will bring together a mix of commercial and residential uses including active spaces and frontages at ground level. Detailed discussions are ongoing with Birmingham City Council planning and property teams.

Andrew Wagstaff, director of Dandara, said: “A project of the magnitude – both in terms of size and regional importance – of Arena Central is thrilling to be involved with especially as this first phase starts to become a reality.
“This is the first project that we as a company have worked on in the Midlands, which is why we are dedicated to developing a world-class building to act as a lynchpin to the overall scheme and the expansion of Dandara’s Midlands business.”

Eastside is Birmingham's biggest physical regeneration, transforming 420 acres into a new quarter for learning, technology and heritage. It is providing office space, as well as residential, retail and education facilities, encouraging future growth in learning, technology based facilities.

Eastside will also encourage the delivery of sustainable developments to create employment opportunities, new business and residential communities and conserve the area’s heritage.

But the importance of the ‘bigger picture’ has not been underestimated. Birmingham’s city leaders have commissioned a new masterplan for the city centre. What happens in Birmingham matters to the rest of the country.

Its resilience is evident as Birmingham has faced some very big challenges as a result of economic restructuring during the past twenty years. But it has come through with real proof of a transforming economy. It has diversified into high technology manufacturing. It has a rapidly growing business and professional services sector as well as leisure and business tourism. It also has world class business conference and exhibition facilities.

In fact, there are more than 40 conference and business venues in the city ranging from purpose-built, internationally renowned facilities such as the NEC and ICC, to academic venues and lesser known unusual settings like the Ikon Gallery and Botanical Gardens. It is one of Europe’s busiest meeting points and was named Best UK Destination at International Confex 2006.

Birmingham has delivered hugely successful city centre regeneration since the 80s. It has set the standards for other cities in this field. It defined a new vision and role for the city centre. It created innovative public private partnerships. This helped attract huge amounts of European, national government and private sector resources.

As a result, the city centre is physically more attractive, has better shops and offices, better cultural facilities, better public spaces and a more dynamic housing market. But the city is not complacent. It knows it faces many big economic challenges and it needs to catch up with the highest performing cities in Europe and beyond.

Birmingham has had a very good first act indeed. But since the world moves on and the competition sharpens, the city wants to find a second act to build upon the huge success of the first. The masterplan will help write the script. It will also be a business plan which will focus on five key drivers of economic competitiveness.

It will: