Birmingham office property is in demand as the supply of top quality space sinks to its lowest level in over a decade. This has seen an increased amount of market activity as domestic and overseas investors compete for opportunities in the city as economic confidence returns. One of the latest deals to be announced is the acquisition of the Aqueous3 development by an unnamed investor.
Commercial property consultancy Harris Lamb confirmed that it had overseen the purchase of the office development on behalf of its private client earlier this week, although financial details are yet to be disclosed. It is believed that the anonymous buyer intends to invest in modifying the building as a means of attracting further tenants in the future.
Harris Lamb director Andrew Lamb believes the boom in market confidence in Birmingham played a significant role in its client’s decision to acquire the 24,500 sq ft building.
He says; “The service sector always follows the industrial and manufacturing sector and knowing that to be the case we purchased this building as a result of the sustained and impressive return of manufacturing in the UK – particularly the West Midlands – pre-empting a demand for prime office space in the city.
“This is a perfect example of the kind of speculative investment the office market has been calling out for, and a client recognising that need and fulfilling it.
“We’re now looking to implement a number of modifications at the property, and will market the building to potential tenants when the work is complete, providing an end to end service.”
Although no plans have yet been submitted to the local authority for consideration, it is believed that the modifications specified by Mr Lamb will involve improving the exterior of the property by creating a double height glazed entranceway. Furthermore, additional space may be created within the building by utilising a glazed cladding system to enclose walkways and allow for a more flexible layout.
Aqueous3 is located in Aston Cross, meaning that businesses can take advantage of Birmingham’s transport network whilst paying slightly lower rental prices than are typically found in the city centre itself. As part of the larger Waterlinks complex, the property also benefits from excellent links to Birmingham’s central business district.
The office building, unlike many similar properties in the city centre, also offers a total of 107 car parking spaces, meaning businesses situated here in future will be able to offer staff members a number of different options for their daily commute.
And with the start of HS2 rapidly approaching and a number of ongoing developments set to lift Birmingham’s profile even further, it may well be that this anonymous buyer has made an extremely smart investment in buying Aqueous3.
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