COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Fresh Mint move Commercial property consultant Siddall Jones has moved to new offices at Birmingham Mint after a strong year of property deals in 2015. The Jewellery Quarter-based firm is moving from its current offices at The Big Peg building on Vyse Street to new premises in the Grade II-listed former coining facility on Icknield Street. Company director Edward Siddall-Jones said: “We’re delighted to have moved to our new home at Birmingham Mint. We’re a growing company, but we’re rooted in Birmingham and in particular the Jewellery Quarter, so this location is ideal for us. Last year was another very successful year and it was therefore important that our new home reflected this, giving us the room to grow in the future.”
£335m council cashfall Birmingham City Council has earned itself £335m of much-needed cash by selling the Grand Central shopping centre to property investment firm Hammerson. London-based Hammerson, which also co-owns the nearby Bullring shopping centre, is said to be in advanced discussions with an existing joint venture partner about a 50:50 joint venture for
the future ownership of Grand Central, built as part of the £750m redevelopment of New Street station. It co-owns Bullring with Henderson Shopping Centre Fund and CCPIB (formerly Canada Pension Plan Investment Board). As part of the transaction, Hammerson also gets Ladywood House, a 95,000 sq ft vacant office building adjoining Grand Central with a value of £10m. Grand Central, developed by Network Rail and Birmingham City Council, has 435,000 sq ft of retail space, with the main name of John Lewis in a 250,000 sq ft department store. It’s 96% fully let with annual net rental income of £13.9m and has attracted average footfall of 62,000 per day in its first three months of trading. Hammerson has acquired a 150-year lease from freeholder Network Rail.
Brindleyplace first for Friska Independent fast food chain Friska has opened its first outlet in Birmingham. The company’s latest eatery is in a 1,700 sq ft unit spread
From left: Tony Adams, Ryan Lynch and Edward Siddall Jones
across the ground floor and mezzanine of the 13-storey Eleven Brindleyplace, initially employing a team of six including a kitchen manager and store manager. The company, which was founded in 2009, is the brainchild of Griff Holland and Ed Brown, and operates at six sites across Bristol, with plans to expand nationwide. Griff Holland, founder of Friska, said: “We’re really excited to be opening our first store outside Bristol and Birmingham was the obvious destination. Brindleyplace is a thriving business location, with a vibrant social scene around its central square.” Friska offers a range of breakfast and lunch options from bacon toasties and wraps, to Vietnamese noodles, and specialty coffee and cakes.
“Brindleyplace is a thriving business location, with a vibrant social scene around its central square”
£20m office sale Hortons’ Estate has sold Innovation Square, Birmingham, for £20.5m. The mixed use development, on the corner of Edmund Street and Church Street in the city centre, has been acquired by DTZ Investors on behalf of the National Grid UK Pension Scheme. The development comprises 45,000 sq ft of offices, with tenants including Savills and Mace, and five retail units, let to bar-restaurant Utopia, Urban Coffee, Benjamin Ryan Hair, Clements & Church and Home. There are six apartments.