One of Britain’s largest privately owned property companies is reportedly in the final stages of negotiating the purchase of the 2 million sq ft Blythe Valley Park near Solihull.
A number of industry sources are claiming that IM Properties — which has a £1bn investment and development portfolio across the UK, Europe and the United States — is about to close an off-market deal with the site’s French owner, Natixis.
If the £130m business park acquisition goes ahead it would confirm IM’s recent strategy of cranking up its purchase of nearby West Midlands assets. In July the Warwickshire-based developer bought the Fore Business Park from BAM for £21m.
Located on Junction 4 of the M42 motorway, Fore Business Park has more than 65,000sq ft of existing office accommodation within two buildings – Fore One and Fore Two – speculatively developed in 2009. The site also includes six acres of development land, with planning consent for two further office buildings totalling an extra 90,000sq ft.
At the time IM’s investment director, John Hammond, said: “The market is currently starved of buildings along the M42 corridor that offer larger floor plates, so we will be looking to remodel the existing Fore park planning consent in order to ensure that we are delivering a desirable, cost-effective solution for commercial occupiers
“The M42 market has witnessed a dramatic turnaround in recent months, exhibiting a strong demand that has left little stock for tenants to consider, particularly in good quality buildings that are landlord controlled,” he added.
Buying Blythe Valley from the French corporate and investment bank would give IM yet another foothold along that M42 corridor. The 257-acre “business campus” is also close to Junction 4 of the M42 and is described on its website as “much more than just a collection of buildings … it’s a complete environment with dynamic space that emanates a sense of community”.
Surrounded by parkland, the complex contains 14 office buildings totalling around 500,000 sq ft, with the majority fully let. There is also an expansion master plan in place with consent for a further 1.4-millionsq ft of offices and a 200-bed hotel.
Among its occupiers are BAM PPP, part of the Dutch Royal BAM Group; Balfour Beatty Construction and Balfour Beatty Engineering Services; legal and commercial advisers Hill Hofstetter; office space providers Regus, and Siemens UK.
IM already owns a number of prominent developments in Solihull including the 90-store Mell Square shopping centre in the town centre and Solihull Business Park which, again, is just a mile or two from the M42 motorway.
Previous Post
20 Fenchurch Street 90% let following Law Firm Deal
