Invest in Birmingham
It was announced yesterday that London has dropped out of the ‘top-10 real estate markets with the best prospects’ in the Urban Land Institute and PwC’s annual Emerging Trends in European Real Estate report. Birmingham, however, has maintained its strong position of 6th in the top 10 above the likes of Milan, London and Paris.
In March last year, NovaLoca looked into the benefits of relocating a business to Birmingham. We discussed how there was more investment and development in the city than anywhere else in the UK, outside of London. We also saw the strength of foreign investments such as the Southern Gateway scheme, the Snow Hill master plan, Arena Central and more creating over 4,800 jobs in the region. Now we will look into what Birmingham has set for the UK in 2016 and beyond.
HSBC move to Arena Central
Work began in September 2015 for the construction of the new HSBC UK office which will be based at 2 Arena Central. The company are planning on 2,500 employees being placed within the new office by early 2018. The new construction brings long-anticipated progress to the 9.2 acre site which should deliver a million sq ft office-led, mixed use development once completed.
HS2 and Curzon Station
A Hybrid Bill has been submitted to Parliament for the construction of a High Speed Rail between London and Birmingham which will connect the UK with a fast and reliable train service. The goal is to start construction on Curzon station in 2017 and eventually complete the Birmingham to London line by 2026.
Paradise Circus
Paradise Circus is the redevelopment of a 17 acre site into office space, leisure facilities, cultural civic amenities and a 4 star hotel. The vision is to transform the space into a vibrant mixed use development to dramatically transform the whole area of the city.
103 Colmore Row
The old NatWest Tower has recently been demolished and will be replaced by a £60m 26 storey tower. The new tower will be the tallest office building under construction in the UK outside London and the development will include retail space, bars, restaurants and Grade A offices.
Birmingham City Council have a 20 year vision called “The Big City Plan” which includes visions to create over 50,000 new jobs, create 1.5 million square metres of new floor space, create a well connected and efficient City Centre and to deliver five areas of transformation to support the growth of the City Centre. We expect to see further developments put into action over the coming years as Birmingham continues to strengthen as a UK great city to invest in.
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