In the autumn of 2009, I moved from Birmingham to London. At that time, the highest headline office rent in Birmingham’s central business district had just been set at 1 Snow Hill.
Returning to Birmingham some 10 years later to head up Sanderson Weatherall LLP’s Birmingham office, the highest headline office rent has not yet reached an increase of 10% above the previous record. To put that into perspective, London West End office rents increased by over 20% and RPI inflation increased by over 35% in the same period.
So much has changed in the once regarded second city, but so much untapped potential remains.
Standing on the 26th floor of an office building close to the city centre, the views north, west, east and south reveal vast swathes of land that will likely be developed in the years to come. I am reminded of London in the 60s and 70s, when the property ripple effect was gathering momentum.
Brindley Place was once considered “too far from New Street Station” to be a good office location. Now HSBC, Deutsche Bank, BT, HMRC and the RICS have all taken office space in the area.
Goldman Sachs plans to move to the city. The fundamentals are in place and their international chief executive is quoted as saying, “Establishing a new office in Birmingham will diversify our UK footprint and give us access to a broad and deep talent pool in the local area. We see tremendous opportunity to enhance our UK presence and continue delivering for our global clients”.
The growing pace of Birmingham’s expansion is not limited to the city centre. Amazon continues to increase its presence in the East Midlands and south Staffordshire. Wolverhampton, Dudley, Stourbridge, Kidderminster, Redditch, Coventry, Tamworth and Walsall are all growing apace. They have good fundamentals and are well connected.
HS2 and the Commonwealth Games are adding to the growing recognition of Birmingham and the Midlands as being a huge opportunity for investment and relocation.
It is my belief that Birmingham will soon re-establish itself as the country’s second city. As I was reminded twice in my first two weeks back in Birmingham: we’re not the north and we’re not the south – we’re the Midlands. I certainly wouldn’t be anywhere else.
